Through the Looking Glass
by PinkFuzzBall
Summary: Kimberly Amber is just spending her time away during the summer when she looks into her mirror and sees, not her reflection, but Konan's!
1. Chapter 1: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

**So yeah! Here's the first chapter of my story! Hope you like it!**

**NARUTO AND ALL ITS CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME**

Mirror Mirror on the Wall…

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

To be honest, I always loved my mirrors. My bathroom mirror, the mirror on my desk, the one on my computer… In fact, it's probably my most favorite thing in my room. Wait, let me correct that. It _was _probably my most favorite thing in my room.

Summer had just started and I, Kimberly Amber, was simply enjoying a warm summer afternoon with my best friend, Pauline Jane, in my bedroom, when _it _happened.

"So yeah, he _totally _broke up with her through text! I mean, how lame is that?"

"I. Know. Right? It's outrageous!" I felt around my hair and to my horror, a tuft of hair was sticking out of my almost perfect bun. I screamed.

"Calm down, Kim." Pauline said soothingly. "You have a mirror. Go check it and just redo your hair."

"Alright," I said, sighing and standing up. Pauline took a sip of her iced tea and put her iPod's ear buds into her ears and turned the volume up. Picking up an issue of _The New York Times, _being the geek she is, she began flipping through the science and technology section. Meanwhile, when I flipped on the switch in my bathroom and glanced at the mirror, I screamed, dropping the can of soda that was in my hand.

Pauline didn't look up from her newspaper. In mild interest, she called out over her music, "You okay in there?"

"Heh, yeah," I chuckled then frowned because staring right back at me in the mirror wasn't my reflection. It was a middle aged woman (Who did, on the contrary, look quite young) with her indigo hair pulled up in a perfect bun, to my horror, and a white rose in full blossom pinned to it. She had a piercing right below her bottom lip. I stared into her soft, dark blue eyes; stunned. The person that I was looking at was none other than Konan, from the Akatsuki, from my favorite anime.

To my relief, she looked just as surprised as I did. I saw her lips move slightly.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" I asked, jerking my thumb at my chest. She nodded. "Oh, I'm Kimberly Amber… and you're Konan, right?" The look on her face was priceless. Once again her lips moved and in a quiet voice she spoke,

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, duh, you're a character in one of the most popular animes and manga of all time!" After a second of confusion, she shook her head.

"I don't know what anime or manga is…" I thumped my hand against my forehead.

"Kimberly?" Pauline called, pulling her ear buds out and setting her drink and newspaper down. She stood up. "Are you okay in there?" She paused momentarily, "Talking to yourself?"

"I'm not talking to myself!" I rebounded, not taking my eyes off of Konan. "Just… just get in here and see for yourself!"

"Um, yeah, I see you and me in the mirror." Pauline said in a matter-of-factly sort of way, after taking a quick glance at the mirror.

"No!" I cried gesturing frantically towards the mirror. "She's right there! Konan!"

"Oh," Pauline said, nodding. "You mean from Naruto…"

"What's Naruto?" Konan asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"HE'S the main character in the anime and manga… Naruto!" I cried out of desperation. Konan still looked confused.

"Yeah… you are so talking to yourself." Pauline muttered, returning to her newspaper and iced tea. I closed my eyes and scratched my head.

"Geez… okay, this is all a dream. When I open my eyes, I'll see myself in the mirror. One, two, three." However, what I saw was still Konan. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm still here…"

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, placing my hand on the mirror for support as I leaned over the sink. However, to my surprise, yet again, my hand sunk right through the mirror. I squealed, snatching my hand back. The mirror rippled as if it was water, but it didn't feel wet. However, it sent an icy chill up my spine. Outside of my bathroom, Pauline didn't even take any notice. (I guess that if she did she just ignored me.)

"What was that?" I asked to nobody in particular.

"I don't know," Said Konan wearily, "But for a second, I thought that I had lost control of my right hand. It was as if someone else had taken command of it…"

"Hm," I rubbed the bottom of my chin in thought. "Okay then, let me try it again." Konan nodded her agreement. This time, I placed my left hand on the mirror and just the same, it sunk right through. "So?" I asked the blurred version of Konan, "Can you move your left hand?" She shook her head, or at least I thought she was.

"No!" Came her alarmed cry. But before I could say anything else, I lost my footing and slipped into the mirror; my whole body being engulfed, or rather, dragged. When I opened my eyes, I was in a dim room standing in front of a frameless, life-sized mirror that leaned against a wall. I looked down at my hands and saw painted nails. I never painted my finger nails! I looked into the mirror, shocked at what had happened, and saw one thing. Myself. In my bathroom. The me in my room looked around. She looked about as shocked as I felt.

"Where am I?" She asked in a bland tone.

"Um," But I stopped because my voice was completely different. I spoke again and realized. This was Konan's voice! "We switched bodies!" I exclaimed. The me in my room ignored me and was facing a seriously pissed off Pauline. I listened in on what she was saying.

"I have no idea what the hell you're doing but just quit it, okay? You're seriously freaking me out with all this junk and you talking to yourself about it. Just. Quit. it."

"Who are you?" The me asked.

"Excuse me?" Pauline looked aghast. "Are you serious?" Konan, in my bathroom, nodded.

"I am Konan. May I have your name?" Pauline laughed.

"No, you're Kimberly! But geez… are you acting strange." She paused before grabbing Konan's wrist and dragging her out and away from the mirror. "C'mon, just I heard your mom! She made cookies!" Konan's face was painted with horror.

"No! Release me!" I assumed that at that moment, she tried to use her awesome shinobi paper jutsu but failed, realizing that she was in my body now.

"Wait!" I exclaimed extending my hand forward. God it was so weird hearing Konan's voice being spoken instead of mine… However, my hand, or rather, Konan's, hit solid mirror. "Oh God no…" I muttered, now furiously pounding my fists against the mirror. "No! No! NO!" Then, suddenly, I heard a knock at the door.

"Konan?" I recognized it instantly. It was Pein. "I'm coming in." And in came the Pein that I recognized from the anime with his eerie piercings and bright orange hair. He took one look at my now bruised fists pressed against the mirror and decided to ignore the sight. "We're having a meeting, now." And with a dissatisfied sniff and a look of deep concern, he left the room. _Oh God, _I thought, _What do I do now? _Then, out of curiosity alone, I left the room and proceeded to the meeting room.

Thanks soooo much for reading! 3 hope you liked it! I will be posting the next chapter soon! :)

Oh yeah! Review review! It only takes like... 5 seconds! :D thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: Babysitting the Akatsuki

Babysitting the Akastuki 

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

"… and Kakuzu, I am sending you and Hidan off on a mission. Don't look at me that way unless you want your guts torn out. I told you, don't look at me that way! It'll be fairly easy." Pein laid several wanted posters on the table. "Just capture these people and turn them in. We're low on funds." He turned to the rest of the Akatsuki. "The meeting is over. You are dismissed." He left the room quietly, his eyes catching mine before he left.

"More bounty hunting? To hell with this mission!" Hidan growled angrily which caused Kakuzu to flash him a warning face that practically said to just shut up and do it.

"I wish I could go," muttered Deidara, "I would get to blow stuff up… un…" He fumbled with a piece of clay in his hands.

"Tobi wants to go!"

"Just shut up, un!" I smiled quietly to myself at their arguments. In the anime they actually never really showed the Akatsuki in their hideout. It was a bit amusing to watch. Then, without a word, an annoyed looking Itachi and Zetsu left the room.

"Wait!" Kisame gasped, sitting up in his chair. "What are you still doing here, Konan?" His shark-like eyes turned to slits. "Don't you usually just go follow Leader wherever he goes?"

"Um," I stammered, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Deidara chose that exact moment to be blow up Tobi time and chucked several clay birds at the childish Uchiha.

"Katsu!" He cried, sending off numerous explosions. Immediately Pein arrived at the scene looking extremely pissed off.

"Deidara, Tobi, you two better clean up this mess," He hissed as soon as the dust cleared. "If you don't want me to-" He stopped. Apparently the thought that had come to his mind had been too gruesome to think about, let alone say aloud. Then he turned his menacing eyes towards me, "Konan. I need to speak with you." And he left the room, leaving me no choice but to follow him.

"Are you okay?" Were the first words he said once we were both settled in Pein's room.

"Um, yeah! Totally!" I said, doing my best to imitate Konan's stiff posture. "I mean, yes. I am doing fine." He didn't look convinced but moved on.

"On another topic, I have some business to take care of so I will leave the rest of the Akatsuki in your capable hands." Panic began to rise in my chest.

"Uh-um, Leader-sama… I mean Pein, uh, well, isn't there some other way…" He gazed at me affectionately and for a moment I forgot that I was Konan.

"It's extremely important business and I must go but I'll be back as soon as I can." He pat my head reassuringly. "I leave tomorrow at dawn."

"Do the others know about this? Y-You didn't mention this at th-the meeting…"

"I'll leave you to tell them." He smiled a rare smile that tugged at an old, fond memory in the back of Konan's mind. I quickly cleared the thought of knowing Konan's past (even though they showed it in the anime) and focused on what tomorrow would bring.

_They're probably not going to be very happy…_

Before I went to sleep, I checked the mirror in Konan's bedroom. Strangely, though, it showed Konan's clear reflection instead of my bathroom.

"Oh great," I muttered aloud, "How am I gonna get back now?" I rubbed my temples in frustration and sat down on Konan's bed. To my surprise, it was extremely puffy and soft. In moments, I toppled over and fell asleep without even knowing.

Morning came too early. My head felt muggy and the room was dim as it had been when I first came. It felt weird not seeing the sun when you woke up. But then again, the Akatsuki hideout was underground (I think).

I headed over to Konan's closet to find nothing but Akatsuki cloaks inside, all hung neatly on metal hangers. _She has only Akatsuki cloaks? _A voice in the back of my mind gasped.

After changing into a clean red cloud printed cloak, I headed over to the living room of the Akatsuki where most of the members had already assembled. Kisame was kicking back in a black armchair and snacking on some sort of fish. On the coffee table in the middle of the room, Kakuzu was on the floor, counting his money. Next to him, Tobi was using crayons to color in a Disney princesses coloring book. (Who knows where he got that!) And in on the couch next to Kisame's armchair, Itachi was quietly reading a book. Besides them, nobody else was there. I assumed that they were all still asleep. 

"Um, good morning everyone…" I said awkwardly. Kisame looked up from his snacking in mild intrest.

"Shit! You messed up my counting!" Kakuzu whirled around to see who was there. His expression hardened when he saw me. "What the hell are you doing, Konan?"

"Pein left, at dawn, to go run an errand…" I tried to sound confident and well, Konan-like. "So he left me in charge."

"Why didn't he put ME in charge?" Boomed Hidan's angry voice as he barged into the room, apparently still in his pajamas. I suppressed a laugh as everyone stared at his pink, polka-dotted pants and ice-cream printed, shirt with a scythe slicing it in half.

"Because he didn't want to leave an idiot like you in charge," Kisame said, returning to his fish.

"That's bull—" Hidan didn't get to start cussing Kisame out because Zetsu came from behind him a bit his arm. "Ouch! What the hell Zetsu!"

"You make too much noise," Zetsu's black half said, smirking.

"ANYWAYS," I said loudly, breaking the two up. "All I have to do is babysit you guys for a, hopefully short, amount of time. Nobody leaves the hideout without my permission and absolutely NO killing each other! I'm not in a good mood so you better behave!" By the time I had finished my outburst, the others stared at me in shock.

"Konan…" Said Kakuzu nervously, "Are you… okay? That didn't sound like you at all."

"Erm," I cleared my throat. "Whatever… Just… play nice." I finished awkwardly before leaving them to their own devices. Then, Deidara arrived at the door.

"What the hell is going on here, un?"


	3. Chapter 3: Pots and Pans

**Hey everybody! If you haven't noticed yet… On the first chapter I wrote Pauline's P.O.V instead of Kimberly's… heh**

**I tried to fix it but idk how so just a heads up! Enjoy the chapter!**

**PINKFUZZBALL DOESN'T OWN NARUTO**

Pots and Pans

(Konan's P.O.V)

This unknown girl whose name I suppose is Pauline, was dragging me downstairs. In the midst of my panic, I tried to perform my Dance of the Shikigami technique to turn my body into paper and escape the grip of this maniac girl but apparently I was unable to.

Pauline took me downstairs where there was a woman taking out something from a nifty box in the wall that Pauline called an oven. I made a mental note to myself to make sure that we installed one of those in the hideout.

"The cookies are done!" The woman named Mrs. Amber declared proudly, setting the sheet of chocolate chip cookies on the cooling rack on the counter.

"Yum!" Pauline exclaimed making a dash for the cookies and finally releasing her iron grip on my arm. I rubbed it gingerly.

"What are these…'cookies?'" I asked quietly. With a choclately sweet pastry stuffed into her mouth, and two more in her hands, Pauline turned around.

"Stoff shaying stuff that doesn't make any sensh!" Pauline growled, spewing crumbs all over the place.

"Excuse me?"

She swallowed.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I said with a smile, deciding at that moment to keep the whole incident with the mirror a secret.

"Ah, whatever," Pauline said, stuffing another cookie into her mouth. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss; especially in Konan's case.

We gathered the cookies together on one plate with two glasses of milk and sat at the table to talk and eat. Pauline leaned in close and whispered,

"So, have you talked to that Daniel guy yet?"

"Who's Daniel?"

Pauline gasped, and then proclaimed, "You officially have amnesia!"

"What's am-"

"Amnesia is simply the loss of one's memory as a result of a shock, injury, or medical disorder! Which is, in your case, quite understandable," Pauline finished with a satisfied smile plastered on her face.

"Um—"But before Konan could say another word, a loud banging noise filled my ears. I quickly covered them with my hands, blocking out about half the sound.

"Shit!" Pauline hissed aloud.

"No cussing in the house, dear," Mrs. Amber said happily putting her finger to her lips. "And David, honey, please do stop."

I turned to see a child, about 9 years in age, with short, black hair, and pouty lips. He frowned, lowering the two pans that were in his hand.

"But Mom, I was just practicing!" Mrs. Amber chuckled and reassuringly pat the boy on the shoulder.

"You can practice some other time," Eventually, David dropped the pans to the floor and stomped away angrily.

"Who's he?" I asked.

"He's your annoying younger brother, David," Pauline said, apparently used to my 'amnesia' now. She looked as if she wanted to say more about David but held her tongue. "ANYWAYS, I gotta run," She saluted, "See ya later! Thanks Mrs. Amber for the cookies!" She said before rushing out, leaving Konan secretly wondering what was so important to her.

**Thanks for reading! Sorry this chapter was kind of short… (and a stupid title… :P) It's in preparation for the next one! I have an idea… **

**Review please! Or David will run into your house screaming and banging pans!**


	4. Chapter 4: Who knew?

Who knew?

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Yupp. So the one thing that I learned about the Akatsuki is that they are definitely _not_ what they seem like in the anime.

It had been at least three days since I switched bodies with Konan (still wondering how she was doing) and having probably the worst time at the Akatsuki hideout. (Not to mention an increase in my usually non-violent nature)

"Give me those back! They're mine!"

"I had them first!"

"Let go you meathead!"

"I told you I had them first!"

In my rage, I bashed my fist against Kisame's head and knocked him unconscious. He slumped forward in his arm chair. I smiled in my silent victory then dusted my hands on my cloak and proceeded to finish eating the fish sticks that we had been fighting over.

"Konan is very scary..." Tobi said, shivering behind Deidara who definitely wasn't liking the fact that Tobi was hiding behind him.

"Get off of me, un," Deidara muttered, waving his hand absentmindedly. He was currently playing a game that he and Itachi had made up in the midst of their extreme boredom. They were using Kakuzu's coins, (since he hadn't returned) and situating five coins on each side of the table. The game was to flick your coins and try to knock your opponent's coins off the table. First one with no coins loses.

Itachi narrowed his eyes then flicked his last remaining coin and sent it skittering across the table. It missed Deidara's coin by centimeters and went clattering onto the floor.

"I win!" Cried Deidara, jumping up and sending Tobi onto the floor on his back. He thrust out his open hand. "Now hand it over, un!"

Itachi grumbled something that I didn't catch and threw a pink lollipop at Deidara. Unfortunately for Itachi, his target caught it.

"Yes!" Deidara exclaimed, basking in his glory. "I have beaten the mighty Uchiha, un!"

"Shut up!" I shouted from across the room, polishing off the last fish stick. "You're giving me a head ache!"

"Lookie here," Deidara said mockingly, "I'm Konan and I have an attitude, un!"

Without speaking, I walked up to Deidara, smashed him in the head like I did to Kisame, and he collapsed right on the spot. Itachi's eyes widened in surprise but like me, he didn't say anything.

Tobi glanced down at his watch less wrist and openly declared, "Tobi's got to go!" Before running out of the room. At the moment, I could care less. Spending three days in the body of a non-existent character in the Akatsuki hideout had driven me practically mad.

"WHO DARES TOUCH MY MONEY?"

_Great, now Kakuzu's back._

"WHAT THE HELL, KAKUZU!"

_…and Hidan._

I closed my eyes and began massaging my temples. _Please let me be home… Please let me be home… Please let me—_

Kakuzu stormed into the room; he looked a bit tipsy, maybe even a bit more.

"WHO DID IT?" He raged, scanning the room. Apparently he wasn't happy with the sight of Kisame and Deidara unconscious and Itachi too close to his money. However, he knew better than to mess with an Uchiha so he simply swiped up his money angrily and rushed out. Hidan came in, shortly after. From just seeing the looks on those two, I knew they had been out to drink.

Hidan stumbled forward, tripping on his own feet. He turned his head to me and smiled.

"Hey there, wanna go have some fun downstairs?" Just hearing his voice made my mood worse so I added him to the 'I-was-knocked-out-by-Konan-club,' before wondering what Tobi was doing right about now. I passed Zetsu on my way out and the look on his face was not what I expected. In fact, he looked a bit amused.

When I arrived at Tobi and Deidara's door, I stopped and listened. From inside, I heard sobbing. Not those cheap movie kinds but real ones. I reconsidered knocking, suppressing my curiosity, then retreated silently to Konan's room. Who knew that Tobi, or rather Madara, had a sensitive side? Next time I go shopping, I think that I'll go buy him a teddy bear.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! :D (Again and kind of ish short chapter... sorry!)**

**Reviews are very much appreciated! (Tobi looks up at you with puppy dog eyes!)**


	5. Chapter 5: Drunk by Morning

Drunk by Morning

(Pauline's P.O.V)

I was feeling pretty bad about ditching Kimberly on such short notice but what could I do? I had a date. (Smiles evilly) Sure, I never told poor Kimmy about this but hey. What could I do? She didn't even know the guy so what did it matter!

I arrived at home to find my house empty. Good. Then, rushing upstairs, I got changed then headed to the bathroom only to find someone else's reflection rather than my own, staring at me in the mirror. The woman on the other side screamed. She had shoulder length black hair with bangs and dark eyes and was wearing a long, blue and black kimono. She looked absolutely nothing like me but everything like Shizune from the anime and manga, Naruto.

"Who are you?" The woman cried, pointing at me. I, personally, was offended.

"Excuse me? It should be _me _who's asking _you _that question!" I hissed at her, coldly.

"Why not take a stab at it then?"

"Shizune."

The look on her face made me burst out laughing. However, the assistant of the fifth-hokage didn't quite see it my way. By the looks of it, she seemed extremely stressed out and pissed.

"How the-"

"Don't make me explain anything." I said rolling my eyes. So this is what Kimberly saw, only with Konan. For a moment, I considered apologizing to her for earlier, but then I reconsidered; that would be too nice.

Shizune's cheeks bloomed pink. "Stop smirking and start talking!" But then, from behind her, Tonton, (adorable little pig, I must say) jumped on to her shoulder, squealing, and apparently scaring the crap out of poor Shizune that caused her to, **(Very much like Kimberly…) **fall into the mirror and switch with bodies Pauline. Me.

"Where am I?" Shizune asked, in my body, gazing around my unfamiliar bathroom.

"In my room, dumbass," I said, now feeling the weight of Tonton on my shoulder. The pig, sensing something wrong, hopped off my shoulder, or rather Shizune's, and dashed out of the room.

"Tonton!" Shizune cried, reaching forward.

"Back off!" I said rather forcefully and grabbed her hand as soon as it passed through the mirror. "You ain't gettin' this body back so easily! I'm going to enjoy my time here…" And with an evil laugh, I left the room in a hurry, not listening to the protests of the experienced, female jonin.

What met me in the hokage's room wasn't what I expected. Apparently, that pig, Tonton, had somehow contacted Lady Tsunade and 'told' her about everything that had happened. I seriously wondered what that pig was.

"Are you Shizune?" Tsunade asked in a rather harsh tone with a scowl on her face. I did my best to imitate Shizune's voice.

"Hai!Yes, Lady Tsunde!" The blondie squinted her eyes and stared hard at me then looked down at the pig in her lap.

"Are you sure? Because she seems like Shizune to me…"

Tonton squealed angrily, "Oink! Oink!"

"Okay, okay." Tsunade turned to me. "I guess I'll have to put you to the test."

_Great. _I thought. _Thanks a lot, PIG. Watch your back 'cause when I get my hands on you…_

"Meet me in the medical room in exactly two hours." The fifth hokage rudely interrupted my angry and demonic plotting. "There I will test you and see if you are really Shizune. Dismissed."

I really did hate being ordered around by others but since I had to follow my plan of pretending to be Shizune, I followed Tsunade's orders. Once I left the room, I realized that I had two hours of freedom… in the ninja world! I became giddy at the thought and fled from the Hokage's Office and into the town of Konoha. (AKA, the Leaf Village)

The streets were crowded, as they often showed in the anime. I took no notice of the time except for the fact that the sun was dangling low in the sky. In Shizune's pocket, I felt around and made an amazing discovery—her wallet! It was full of money of the shinobi world. I smirked. This was going to be quite the night.

Not exactly sure how I ended up there, I awoke to a surprising reality; only to find two dangerously cute guys next to me and several bottles of sake on the table in front of us.

"Where… am I?" I asked, rubbing my aching head.

"Heaven," The man on my left said with a smirk. "And you're the only angel I see."

"Ah shut up," I muttered. This hangover was worse than I thought and besides that, it was my first hangover and I was having a hell of a morning without handsome men and their cheesy pickup lines. "And who are you anyways?" The two guys exchanged devious glances before telling me about themselves.

"Don't you remember, dear Shizune-chan?" the man on the right with light brown hair asked. "We're your friends from Konaha!"

"Ouch! Quiet down!" I hissed. Apparently, loud noises made a bad hangover about twenty times worse. "Speak more quietly." Then a horrible thought crossed my mind. "Shit! What time is it?"

"Time for us to—" Without hearing the rest of what the man on my left had to say, which I didn't want to know, I dashed out of the bar and into the empty streets. It was just before dawn with the sun slowly creeping above the horizon. "Ah crud…" I muttered. "I totally missed the test that Tsunade was going to give me…"

**So yeah, sorry for the late update… too busy on… youtube! 3**

**And yeah. Im going to leave the story at that… hm**

**AND…**

**Just to make things clear, I am TOTALLY against under aged drinking, drunkness, and anything related to bad drunkness! Don't worry! I'm not like trying to promote people to go out and drink sake until… nvm! You get my point… right? Yay! :D**

**SOOO… now that I am totally free! Of finals, I hope to update more to keep you, amazing readers, happy! And to keep me happy, could you pretty please review? Please? **


	6. Chapter 6: Inner Shizune?

**Um, so yeah! Pinkfuzzball doesn't own Naruto or any of its characters! If I did… I would be swimming in money :P**

Inner… Shizune?

(Shizune's P.O.V)

That girl had one heck of an attitude and I didn't even get to catch her name. No matter. That's the least of my worries right now. Furthermore, the one thing that was on my mind was the thought of the massive amount of paperwork that Tsunade, or rather I, had to complete before dawn. Great.

I blinked twice then gazed back into the mirror. My body was gone, being in control of that other girl, and now the mirror just showed the girl's reflection. I sighed and glanced admiringly at the stunning outfit that she had put on before our switch. They were clothes unlike any that I had ever seen before with an adorable, baby blue blouse complementary with a frilly, aqua blue skirt. I, personally, like the girl's sense of style. Simple, yet complex. Reserved, yet outgoing. Shy, yet bold. Is this going a little over the top? Nope, I don't think so.

However, my thoughts were rudely interrupted when a ringing sound filled my ears. Every nerve in my body jumped at this sound. I later learned that this is what the people of this world call a door bell. Feeling an urge of curiosity, I raced downstairs and yanked open the door to find myself face-to-face with a teenage boy. **(Remember that this is Shizune, guys, and that Pauline's date is younger than her… But he sees her as his date… um, confusing much? :P)**

"… and you are…?" I asked, eyeing the boy cautiously.

"Um, Nathan, remember?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I've never seen you before in my life." The boy, Nathan, looked as if I had slapped him across the face; hard.

"Um, well, heh," He rubbed the back of his neck and I saw his eyes avoid my gaze. "This is awkward…"

"Hey," I said sternly, oblivious to the awkwardness, "Why'd you come here anyways? What business do you have here?" Nathan flicked his hair out of his eyes nervously.

"Um, actually, to be honest… I was supposed to pick you up for a date today… at this time, yeah…" I felt my cheeks bloom a bright shade of pink. Wait, what? This was a guy that I met only two minutes ago and I was blushing? Besides, he's too young for me anyways. But then again, I decided to play along.

Batting my eyelashes, or rather Pauline's, wildly, I gazed at Nathan affectionately. "Do you… remember my name?"

"Of course!" Nathan gasped, partly stunned by my sudden change in attitude. "Pauline Jane!"

"Pretty name, right?" I asked with a hint of amusement in my voice. He grinned.

"Yeah, hey," He leaned against the door frame. "Enough talk. Want to go now?"

_Yes! _I thought happily. However, another thought tugged at my mind, _What are you getting yourself into? You should be trying to find a way back to Konoha! _

_ Shut up! _I hissed back. _You've just never seen this devious side of me! It's always work this, work that. Don't you think that I should have a chance at doing something fun and interesting for a change?_

_ How the hell is this fun? Going on a date with some random stranger in another person's body… is this your idea of fun?_

_ Hell yeah! _I responded with a burning passion. I think that I was getting high off of air or something… but then again, I hadn't been out to drink in awhile…

"Hey," I said, turning to Nathan and locking eyes with him. "Have you ever been out to drink before?" Apparently I had hit a nerve because the moment I said this he jerked back out of, what could only be, surprise.

"Um, we're only… sixteen, Pauline… actually, you're still barely fifteen…"

"So?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever, let's get going." I took his wrist in my hand and led him off the porch, shutting the front doors behind us, not knowing that I was supposed to lock them.

_Whatever, in my world, we never really had to lock our doors either. So what's the difference? _

**Yeah, sorry! I tend to write short chapters but I try to update frequently! Anyways, thanks to those of you who bothered to read this! :P and a really big thank you to those of you special children out there who put my story of favorites or alert list! I love you! *cookies for you!* and you too will get a cookie if you just review! Thanks! **


	7. Chapter 7: Hidden Love

**(The usual disclaimer…) **

**PINKFUZZBALL DOESN'T OWN NARUTO!**

**Oh yeah. And please enjoy the chapter! **

Hidden Love

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Okay. It's official. The Akatsuki are insane.

Alright, so last night, little miss Tobi decides to throw a party to celebrate the seventh day that 'Konan-chan has been with us and talked and everything!' and, of course, everything turns out as a disaster. First of all, somehow, Kisame ended up in the kitchen and turned every single scrap of food that we owned into some sort of fish dish! (I now officially hate anything related to fish.) Second of all, the moment that Deidara realized that Tobi had declared a party, he went berserk and, to put it simply, blew up half of the hideout in his excitement. This caused Kakuzu to throw a fit about 'How much money do you think this is going to cost to fix all this?' and 'Who's going to have to pay for it?' and all that shiz. That was when Zetsu, who had tried Kisame's cooking and nearly threw up, decided that it was time for a real dinner and went on to chomping off Hidan's arm. Entirely. Thankfully Itachi was there to make him spit it out, then convince Kakuzu to sew Hidan's arm back on.

Then, this morning, while everything was still a disaster, Pein decides that this would be the best time to return from his 'errand.' And who got ratted out? Me.

"… and are you sure that's what happened?"

"Yes," I said miserably. "I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent the explosions and the food-"

"It's alright."

I stared. And stared and then continued to stare some more.

"Eh?"

"Don't worry about it," Pein said with a wave of his hand. "Besides, what could you do to stop it?"

"I could've kept Kisame out of the kitchen and stopped-"

"I told you," Pein turned to glared at me. "Don't worry about it."

"But… why?"

I never got to hear Pein's answer nor will I probably ever will because at that exact moment, Tobi decided to piss Itachi off real bad so… yeah, that's all I'm going to say.

"I'll go settle matters outside," He said in a dismissive tone, "Just leave this to me." What should I have said? Actually, what could I have said? Then, the answer came to be as clear as day. Pein loved Konan.

I retreated to Konan's room and examined the mirror again, seeing nothing but Konan's reflection. I sighed and ran my fingers through her hair. When would I ever return to my original body? What's Konan doing right now? I sure hope she hasn't damaged my body or anything… then again; it's Konan so what am I worried about? Hm, I wonder if she's wondering the same things as me. But if I honestly stop and think about this, everything's so strange and—

"Konan."

I turned my head around quickly and saw Itachi standing at the door. How did he even get in here? I didn't hear him!

"Y-Yes?"

"Come,"

_Two words, _I thought. _Must be a new record._

I followed Itachi back into the living room where I was greeted by the sight of Kisame, Tobi, Hidan, Zetsu, Kakuzu, and Deidara. Basically, the whole Akatsuki except for Pein.

"Sorry Konan!" They all said in unison. I blushed subconsciously.

"Wh-Why're you all saying sorry?"

"I didn't mean to turn all of the food into fish food!"

"Sorry I blew up half the hideout, un!"

"Tobi is sorry that he brought up the idea of a party!"

"We are sorry for biting off Hidan's arm."

"Man, why the fuck do I have to apologize? Ouch! Shit, Kakuzu! Alright alright, I'm sorry for whatever I did!"

"I'll pay for the damage."

"No, no! Why are you all apologizing?"

"Hn."

"Itachi says it's because you took the blame for all of us and it was the least thing that we could do. Besides, we all appreciate what you do for us! Doing all the paperwork and everything," Kisame translated.

_What paperwork?_

"Yes! And Tobi has decided that he will now be a good boy and not do anything bad anymore!"

"That's great," I smiled weakly. "But, Pein didn't punish me at all so I don't see-"

"Don't bother," Kakuzu said, guiding me out of the room, "Just go to bed and get some rest. We'll finish up here."

"Are you sure?" I asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Yeah," I thought for a moment that he smiled but who could tell under than mask?

**Yupp. So I thought it would be nice to have a little appreciation chapter for the wonderful Konan! Yay! **

**Yeah **

**So anywho, thanks for reading! And please please please review!**


	8. Chapter 8: In the Dead of Night

**Yo! Pinkfuzzball doesn't own Naruto, mon!**

In the Dead of Night

(Pauline's P.O.V)

I thought that Tsunade wouldn't be mad when she found out that I had skipped out on her test, by accident, to go out and get drunk but boy was I wrong.

"SHIZUNE!"

That was what first greeted me when I entered the Hokage's office.

"Y-Yes?" I had said rather weakly. This was probably the more pitiful side of me and trust me, I really didn't like showing it.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU SKIPPED OUT ON MY TEST JUST SO YOU COULD GO OUT DRINKING WITH A COUPLE OF GUYS!"

"Um…" To be honest, I had nothing to say.

"That's it," She said, leaning back in her chair. "I know that the real Shizune wouldn't miss a scheduled appointment for anything; even cute men. So, now that we got that clarified, tell me, who are you?"

Now was the time to decide; should I tell her the truth or lie? Hm… Well, me being the honest and great, truthful person that I am, I told her the truth. And being the smart hokage she is, Tsunade believed me.

"Pauline Jane… is it? Well," She folded her hands, laid her elbows on her desk, and rested her chin on her hands. "What're we going to do? I mean, you've got to have some sort of plan on you."

"Naw," I said proudly, shaking my head. "I don't really mix well with plans." For some odd reason, this didn't surprise Tsunade like I thought it would. Instead, she called upon the oh-so-mighty Tonton onto her lap and after a couple of grunts and oinks, she told me _her_ plan.

"Okay. So, from now on, everyday, at least five times, I want you to check the mirror to see if you can transport your spirit back. Until then, you will have to act as Shizune. Around others, I will call you Shizune. Tonton has agreed to this as well. One rule must always be followed, however. Nobody else must know about your switch. Is that clear?"

I straightened my back. "Hai! Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

A smile played on the white blonde's lips. "That's more like it."

So I never _did_ end up taking Tsunade's test (Thank God!), however, I was promptly stuck in the ninja world with nothing to do but paper work which, unfortunately, I didn't understand.

"What the hell is-?"

"No cuss words in my office."

"Okay, okay, then what is-"

"It's the method that ninjas use to describe the political relationship between lands."

"Thank you for-"

"Oink!"

"And it also applies to the political disputes and debates that have happened in the past between lands."

"Okay, I think I get-"

"Oink oink!"

"AND it also-"

"I get it, I get it!" I cried out in frustration. We had been at this for about… a guess of five hours.

I try to fill out the papers, miserably, stumble upon an unknown term, ask Tsunade, get my answer, Tonton adds on, Tsunade translates. On and on we went until I collapsed onto the desk that I was working on.

"I… can't… go… any further…" I gasped, letting my pen roll off the table and onto the floor. Tsunade grabbed her giant bottle of sake and took a big swig. Then she slammed the empty bottle onto the table, shattering it to bits, and whipped her mouth onto her sleeve.

"Me either. And now I have to pick up all the slack because apparently you've never worked a day in your life."

"Have too!"

"Oh don't act like a little kid."

"I am a kid!"

"Not in Shizune's body you're not so start acting like a woman and _man up._"

Man up? I tossed the words around in my head. Never thought I'd hear Tsunade say something like that.

"I'm going to bed," The fifth hokage finally declared, standing up from her chair. Tonton hopped off her lap and followed her to the door. "Finish up here then go to bed soon. I'll need you tomorrow… if you can provide any help." And with a very drunken laugh, she left the room, leaving me and a towering stack of papers alone. Ugh.

I left for Shizune's room around maybe one o'clock in the morning. However, on my way up the stairs, I tripped. I tripped _up _the stairs. Wow. Anyways, while I was picking myself up from the floor, I heard a strange voice.

"… and are you sure about this?"

Then, a second voice spoke, this one more ominous, and old, sounding than the first, "Yes. Proceed with the preparations. Tomorrow, we begin."

"B-But sir-"

"No questions! Just…" I heard him sigh. "Proceed with the preparations to kill that dreaded hokage."

What did I do? I did the sensible thing and ran. (And quite loudly at that) I hoped and prayed that they, who were talking, didn't hear me though I heard the first voice, (the less ominous one) say,

"Did you hear anything?"

However, by that time, I was way out of their range. But that was when I realized that I had run in the wrong direction.

"Great…" I mumbled. It was one in the morning and I was running away from a couple of dudes whispering. I sure am something… huh? Well, in my super stealthy way, I snuck back to Shizune's bed with many things swarming around in my head. Who were the two men? Why did they want to kill Tsunade? Should I tell her about what I heard? Even if I did… I have no proof to back anything up… but if she believes that I'm Pauline and not Shizune, she'll probably believe this too. Alright. I'll tell her tomorrow, first thing in the morning.

However, before I went to bed, I checked the mirror, remembering Tsunade's words from before.

'Okay. So, from now on, everyday, at least five times, I want you to check the mirror to see if you can transport your spirit back. Until then, you will have to act as Shizune.' And so I did just that. I checked the mirror, only to find Shizune's reflection, not my bathroom. I sighed. Would I ever be able to return? This was my second day here and I was already homesick. Wow. I am really pitiful.

**Thanks for reading! **

**Whew, I almost thought that I wasn't going to post a chapter today but I managed to do it! :)**

**Please review! It'll make the world a better place! :D**


	9. Chapter 9: The Art of Origami

**Wow… I haven't done a Konan chapter in awhile… and by that I mean the real Konan… the one in Kimberly's body :P**

**Well, hope you enjoy! And Pinkfuzzball doesn't own Naruto!**

The Art of Origami

(Konan's P.O.V)

That girl, Kimberly… Her life was more, let's say, different than I expected. First of all is her younger brother, Daniel; he is probably the most obnoxious boy in the world. Enough said. Second of all are the random people that either show up at the door asking for Kimberly or the people who 'text' or 'call' her on her 'cell phone.' (There terms are all very new to me as you may already know…) And last but not least is the total boredom that I am put through every day. This 'season' called 'summer' is, indeed, boring. I have nothing to do all day. I'm not even able to train since I don't have my own body! **(I will be using these 'quotation thingies' to show the terms that Konan is unfamiliar with :P) **

But the one, single thing that I found fascinating is the 'playground' at Kimberly's old 'school.' It's the pair of metal 'swings' that I find the most remarkable. You sit on them and 'swing' back and forth! Once, I swung up so high that my eyes were parallel to the bar above my head!

Because I have nothing else better to do, I end up spending a good amount of my time at the playground. However, it was in the evening when a boy, who I didn't know, approached me and sat on the swing next to me.

"Hey, I'm Axel." I did my best to smile and sound interested.

"Hello, my name is Kimberly." I said, turning to face him.

"Kimberly, huh? I've heard about you... the girl who has now separated herself from society… the girl with a sudden change in personality… is that true?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I told him, now looking away. This Axel kid… he was quite interesting. He had strange, red colored hair (not saying that pink and purple are normal hair colors…) and bright, green eyes. Below his right eye, I noticed, he had a 'mole' that stuck out to me for some apparent reason.

"Well, I've never met you before so I wouldn't know," Axel chuckled and stared off into the crimson sky. "It sure is pretty, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The sunset, sky, birds, morning, moon," He paused, "Nature…" I turned when I heard the crinkling of paper and saw that he had taken something out of his pocket. The boy, Axel, sat there with a fresh, crisp, clean piece of paper in his hands and was now folding it this way and that. I watched, extremely interested. After a few moments, he sat there with a perfect, origami rose in his lap. I couldn't help it; I clapped.

"That's… beautiful."

"I love turning nature into something… tangible." He said shyly.

"There's nothing wrong with that, and there's no reason to be shy! I love origami and…!" I covered my mouth, "Sorry… for that outburst." Axel shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. You know, you're much different than I thought you'd be." It was now my turn to shrug. Axel looked down at the flower then, after a moment's hesitation, placed it in my lap. He glanced at the sinking sun before asking, "May I… see you again, tomorrow?"

I couldn't help but smile at his sweetness. "Sure."

At Kimberly's home, after I had bid my farewell to Axel, I sat down at her desk and began to work feverishly; cutting and folding paper. What Axel had shown me, sparked something inside of me that I had never known. Of course I always loved paper of any sort and I always preferred to wear an origami rose in my hair, but to be honest, I never folded one myself. Not a single paper has ever been folded by my hand.

How did I make that paper rose, then? An image flashed through my mind; me trying to teach Hidan how to fold origami without me actually folding any paper myself, and with Pein watching cautiously. I laughed to myself at the thought. Since that day, I had always worn the paper rose in my hair. But the more I thought about it, the odder I seem. How could I, a paper jutsu user, have never folded paper before yet I'm constantly using them as weapons in the ninja world. Well, those days were now over because in front of me sat a demented looking rose.

"I sure am bad at this," I said to myself quietly while reaching for another slip of paper. The next rose that I created didn't look as bad as the first but it did look pretty bad, nonetheless.

After several failed attempts, I finally gave up and sank into bed. Who knew origami was so hard? Then, after a moment's thought, I decided. Tomorrow I would go and ask Axel to teach me the art of origami.

**Yeah… sorry this chapter was pretty short… I didn't mean it!**

**But yeah.**

**So for the next week or so, I'll be out of the country on vacation since school is now officially over! (I wanted to cry but no tears came… am I that heartless?)**

**So yeah, I might not be able to update during that time span but I will try and I definitely will when I get back! Love ya'lls! And please review! **


	10. Chapter 10: Grocery Shopping Feuds

**Okay, so I realized it's getting kind of hard to keep up with who's who now so I'll help you out at the beginning of each chapter!**

_**Kimberly: Konan's body at the Akatsuki hideout**_

_**Konan: Kimberly's body at the Amber's house**_

_**Pauline: Shizune's body at Konoha**_

_**Shizune: In Pauline's body (on a date with Nathan)**_

Grocery Shopping Feuds

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Why me? Oh yeah. I'm Konan. That's just great.

So the Akatsuki basically sent me, Hidan, and Kakuzu out on a grocery shopping mission since Kisame depleted our food supply by turning it into fish food for a celebration party that had utterly failed. Yeah. So now we were currently in 'non-Akatsuki clothes' (jeans, t-shirts, and whatnot…. Who knows where they got them!), strolling around the market. At almost every fruit station, however, I squealed and picked up several of the fruits of that kind and throw into my basket. This caused Kakuzu to, in a rather unkind way, scold me and lecture me about how money cannot be wasted on too many fruits and would throw the fruits back. In response, I would either slap him or give him the cold shoulder.

"What's this?" Hidan asked, picking up a pineapple by its leaves.

"A pineapple," I said unhappily. Currently, Kakuzu had taken and returned the oranges and peaches that I wanted to buy so I wasn't in the best of moods at the moment.

"I'll sacrifice it to Jashin-sama!" Hidan declared raising the pineapple into the air.

"Shut up!" I hissed and grabbed his arm. "People are starting to stare!"

"So? Whatcha gonna do, bitch?" He challenged. At this, I smirked.

"Don't make me."

"What can you do that-" And in one swift movement, I did the sensible and thing that I did best; I smashed him in the head. In a moment's notice, Hidan crumpled to the floor, pitifully.

"You carry him," Kakuzu said quickly, immediately turning to the vegetable section and picking up several cucumbers and placing them in the basket. I stopped him and pleaded him with puppy dog eyes.

"Can you carry him, pretty please, Kakuzu-dono?" His face, or what I could see of it, scowled in thought; his emotions conflicting across it.

"Ugh," He said finally, picking up the limp Hidan and carrying him under his arm like a sack of potatoes. "Fine, but only because you asked nicely." I smiled but for some reason I was surprised. Oh yeah. There wasn't any money involved.

We finished our grocery shopping in a relatively short amount of time. (Thanks to Hidan's unconsciousness) and returned to the hideout. In the living room, Kakuzu dumped Hidan onto the couch and stalked off, probably to go and double check how much money was left from what we'd spent. After Kakuzu left, Kisame peered into the room with a devilish grin on his face.

"I see you came back from grocery shopping…"

"Don't even think about it, you meathead." I said, quite uninterested. Currently, I was organizing some papers and filing them away for Pein. He had showed me how to do it properly the night before.

"Oh, c'mon, if I'm not allowed to cook the meals, who will?"

"I dunno," I responded half-heartedly. Kisame walked in and plopped down into his armchair.

"C'mon, Konan-chan, you know you want to taste my delicious…"

"Shut up, meathead! Can't you see I'm trying to work?" My eyes darted up from my work to stare the shark-like, shinobi down.

"Chill, Konan-chan, I can help you if you want," He said calmly, running his fingers through his spiked-up hair.

"No thank you," I told him bluntly. "Just get out of here." That was when I heard,

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, BITCH?" I looked and saw Hidan sitting upright on the couch, quite enraged.

"Great…" I murmured before turning to Kisame, "Please take this…" I calmed myself, "Nuisance… out and back to _its_ room… please," I started moving my pen again; scribbling words and symbols down on the paper that I had been instructed to by Pein.

"Fine, fine, it would give me something to do," Kisame grumbled before leaving the room with a very resistant Hidan slung over his shoulders.

After a good two hours of useless and boring paperwork, my stomach rumbled, willing me to go and get a snack. In the kitchen, however, I was met by a very unpleasant surprise. Sitting on the island, in the middle on the kitchen, was Zetsu, and to my horror, he had eaten every single fruit from the fridge, pantry, and counter with not so much as an apple core left.

"All those… Did you-" He belched rudely, interrupting me midsentence.

"Excuse us," His white half said.

"Those were delicious," The black half murmured softly. "Are there anymore?"

Suddenly, rage took over. "YOU IDIOT!" I screeched, lunging at him. "HOW COULD YOU EAT EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN FRUIT IN THE KITCHEN?"

I saw Zetsu flinch before dodging my attack easily but the surprise on his face was clear and evident.

"Why would you attack us?" Zetsu's white half asked, frowning and my furiousness and extreme rage.

"YOU ATE ALL THE FRUITS THAT I JUST BOUGHT! I DIDN'T EVEN GET ONE ORANGE SLICE!" I leapt at him once more only this time, drawing a kunai knife from Konan's pocket.

"Take this!" I cried as I slashed at him wildly. He avoided my attacks with ease and a smile played on the black half of Zetsu's lips.

"Then why don't you just go and buy some more?"

"Hell no!" I hissed, not stopping at my useless slashing, "Kakuzu would murder me! No wait, he would have Hidan sacrifice me to his fake god which is so much worse than death!"

"WHAT THE HELL YOU BITCH!"

Hidan burst through the kitchen door, his scythe at hand. "DON'T YOU DARE GO DISSING THE ALL POWERFUL JASHIN-SAMA!"

"I thought Kisame put you to bed, dumbass!" My slashing ceased for a moment and Zetsu took this chance to run and flee the room.

"Heh," Hidan laughed, "That idiot wouldn't be able to put me to bed even if he had the whole Akatsuki on his side!"

"I bet you I could, alone," I challenged, flexing my wrist.

"Ha! Like you could-" He never saw it coming. In an instant, using Konan's ninja skills, I pounded forward and thrust my fist into Hidan's stomach. He coughed; thankfully no blood came out, and stumbled backwards. Panting heavily, Hidan let out a string of colorful curses **(I'll censor them for ya) **before picking up his scythe and swinging it at me. He continued to do so, and backing me into a corner, until Pein burst through the door and onto the scene. His piercing, rinnegan eyes instantly found Hidan and they didn't express happiness.

"What do you think you're doing," He said in a tone with an edge to his voice. This might've been a question but who knows!

"I'm…" Hidan backed off and lowered his weapon. "She started it!" He pointed a finger at me; not his middle one. (Thank Jashin! No wait, don't thank him!)

"Pein-sama…" I began but he quickly interrupted me,

"Any disruption in the hideout might result in our finding by the rest of the ninja world. You should know that, Hidan. Make sure it doesn't happen again, _ever._"I don't think that I've ever seen Pein mad before but this came pretty close. After his scolding of Hidan, the Akatsuki leader left the kitchen rather suddenly without a single backwards glance.

"Um, sorry Hidan," I turned to the silver-haired Jashinist after I was sure that Pein was gone. Instead of cursing some more, Hidan looked away,

"Whatever," He said dismissively before leaving the kitchen, leaving me all alone.

"Well that certainly was interesting…" An ominous voice said.

"Who's there?" I gasped, alarmed.

"It's only us," And with that, Zetsu melted out of the wall opposite of the kitchen door.

"What an interesting feud…" The white half muttered to himself.

"So," I began coolly, leaning on the counter, "You were secretly watching the whole time, huh? That's called eavesdropping and nobody appreciates begins spied on."

"But we _are_ the official spy of the-" The white half started, but I interrupted him.

"Your punishment," I rubbed my chin in thought, "Will be to go and replace all the missing, or rather eaten, fruits without arousing suspicion in any of the market-goers. Do you understand?"

"You have no right-" The black half said.

"I do too!" I cut through his words harshly, "Unless you want me to report you to Pein-sama…" This caught Zetsu's attention and muttering under his breath some more, he melted back into the wall, hopefully to go do what I had told him to do.

**Thanks for reading! And…**

**A shout out (kinda…?) to oOoODoodlebuddiOoOo****!**

**For the last chapter, the one with Konan in Kimberly's body, Axel is not, in fact, the awesome Axel from Kingdom hearts! I just realized that he was actually really similar to the Kingdom Hearts one… hmm…**

**Well, thanks for pointing that out and constantly reviewing! Love ya! And yeah, just to clear up confusion, he isn't the Axel from Kingdom Hearts… this story isn't a crossover!**

**Yup.**

**And thanks for reading! Please please review! And haha even though I am out of the country, I can't stay away! I will continue to post! (though not as frequently :P)**

**Love ya'lls! :D **


	11. Chapter 11: Poison Mist

**Okay, so back to one of the four stories with actual plot… Pauline's point of view! :D**

**And I am back home! So back to daily updates! However… my computer's kind of jacked up and reallllyyy slow… but I'll try to fix it! Enjoy the chapter!**

_**Kimberly: Konan's body at the Akatsuki hideout**_

_**Konan: Kimberly's body at the Amber's house**_

_**Pauline: Shizune's body at Konoha**_

_**Shizune: In Pauline's body (on a date with Nathan)**_

Poison Mist 

(Pauline's P.O.V)

For the fifth time today, I checked Shizune's mirror. Nothing new. What was I expecting… to be able to actually switch back? Ha! It's been… let's say, four days, now five, since I switched…. And they haven't been the best. I swear, nobody in this ninja world knows how to have fun; it's always just work this, and work that. Blah.

Well, it's also been a few days since I found out about those two guys who wanted to (quote and quote) "…kill that dreaded hokage," for some apparent reason. I guess that this should bug me, but it didn't. In fact, I almost forgot about it until this morning when one of the elders came to visit Tsunade.

"Miss Tsunade," The old man, named Danzo, said in his elderly voice. "There is an important meeting that you must attend at once." He spoke with unquestionable urgency.

Lady Tsunade looked up from her work at her desk, mildly interested.

"Oh," She said, readjusting her reading glasses, "Danzo, what do you want?"

"Please do not make me repeat myself, Miss Tsunade…" That was when I butt in.

"Hey! You're the dude from last night! The one who's plotting to kill Lady Tsunade!" The shock on Danzo's face was as plain as day but in a second he recovered from his shock.

"Miss Shizune, I do not know of this that you speak of."

"What the-" I sighed. "You don't get it! I recognize your voice from last night…" Towards the end, my voice faltered. I didn't want him to know that I was sneaking around the building at night! Let alone tell Tsunade…

Thankfully, Danzo didn't show the least of expressions… In fact, his face was nearly expressionless. (If that makes any sense…)

He cleared his throat and pounded his cane on the floor. "As I was saying, Miss Tsunade, we _need_ you in the meeting room. NOW." The blonde hokage sighed.

"Do I have too?" I have to commend her… She sounded very much like a little, whinny child.

"Yes," Danzo said impatiently. He was squirming a bit now as if he had mice in his pants… If he was wearing pants… I had to try hard to suppress my laughter.

"Ah, whatever," Tsunade waved her hand and her gaze returned to her paperwork. "I can attend it later. Shizune, can you go for me?"

"Eh?" I stood there, aghast. "But… you're the hokage! Miss Tsunade! I m-mean… well…"

"Shizune," Tsunade looked at me expectantly, "You're going to go for me." Danzo's face fell and he looked like he wanted to kill someone; I reckon that it was most likely the hokage…

"Hai, yes, Lady Tsunade…" I muttered, dragging myself out of the room with Danzo following me in a sluggish fashion.

Once we were out of the room and far down the hallway, Danzo turned to me and attempted to whack me on the head with his cane. I nearly dodged his surprise attack.

"What the hell was that for, you old coot?" I hissed at him.

"You were not supposed to come!" He roared in response, taking another aim at my head. "And since you heard my whole plan, you should know why!" I narrowly avoided his next blow.

"Well, I can't just let the hokage go dying on me, now can I? I'm her assistant anyways." I turned on my heels to return to the office when Danzo, in one swift motion, moved right behind me and whispered in a deadly tone,

"If you do truly know my plan to reign as hokage, I cannot allow you to live." I felt the sharp, cool end of a kunai knife touch my throat. "I will have to kill you right here."

"Like you could!" I declared, leaping into the air, only to see Danzo swipe the kunai right where my neck was. That was pretty close. Then, subconsciously, I weaved several hand signs and poison mist began rapidly pouring out of my mouth. Totally gross! I found my voice and, through the mist, hissed,

"Poison Mist Jutsu!" Before the purple haze clouded over, I watched as Danzo collapsed onto his back and tried to stand back up. Hopefully he wouldn't make it out alive.

I landed on the floor and began sprinting back towards the office. However, I didn't get very far until I ran into a familiar looking ninja.

"Youre-"

"Temari." The blonde, four pony-tailed ninja finished bluntly. "Shizune," She said, gesturing towards me, "Am I right?" I nodded briskly.

"Well, I hope you don't mind…" I gazed at her fan, "Lending me a hand?"

I was truly impressed. Temari's fan was one magical weapon. In one strong motion, she had blown all my mist gone and out of the hall, leaving it empty. No Danzo to be seen.

"He escaped…" I muttered, fingering a kunai knife in Shizune's pocket.

"What?" Temari asked, turning to me.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," I said with a carefree wave of my hand. "So, what're you doing here?"

"I have some business here that I had to take care of but it's finished now so I was about to leave… when I ran into you. Now, it's my turn," She shifted her weight to one side. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh," My words became a jumbled mess in my mouth. "Well, there was this meeting that I had too… and um, I was just following…" Temari smiled in that sweet way of hers and pinned her fan back onto her back.

"I understand. Being the hokage's assistant must be busy work," She started down the hallway, "I'll be leaving then." And with a wave of her hand, she was gone.

**So sorry for not continuing with my daily updates! Still out of the country… My feet hurt :P **

**Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was kind of short compared to the last one, but I apologize :P I just decided to continue Pauline's P.O.V. for next time :P**

**Now, this'll be the first, hopefully not last, time for this… I'll be thanking certain, special peoples now!**

**Thanks too:**

**Okamineko-chan for favorite author**

**oOoODoodlebuddiOoOo for story alert**

**oOoODoodlebuddiOoOo for reviewing**

**Okamineko-chan for favorite story**

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**SakuraDreamerz for reviewing**

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**Gin Kitsune-sama for reviewing**

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**Hope I didn't miss anyone! If I did… please PM me and I will add you to the list! It was my first time… so yeah :P**

**I wanna thank you all! (again…?) You're all just so awesome! I love ya! :D**


	12. Chapter 12: The Real Inner Conscious

**Yes, two chapters in one day :)**

**And if you didn't notice… in the last chapter, at the end, for the author's note… heh**

**I tried to fix it! But yeah :P sorry!**

**Now on with the story!**

**However…**

**I**

**Haven't done a disclaimer in awhile…**

**SO… **

**PINKFUZZBALL DOES NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Enjoy! :)**

_**Kimberly: Konan's body at the Akatsuki hideout**_

_**Konan: Kimberly's body at the Amber's house**_

_**Pauline: Shizune's body at Konoha (Hokage's office)**_

_**Shizune: In Pauline's body at the Jane's house**_

The _Real _Inner Conscious

(Shizune's P.O.V)

The Nathan boy and I had quite the interesting night. He had thought, apparently, that a good place for a date would be a fast food restaurant; what people here call certain places to eat. When we arrived at 'McDonalds,' I told him, "What the hell? Why're we eating at this dump?" Then I forced him to drive to the nearest bar. "Now this is more like it." I had told him, patting him on the back.

Still being the crazy Shizune that I was, I took huge swigs of alcohol while Nathan just watched with frightened eyes. I had tried to convince him to join in, but he would just chicken out and say something like, "I'm alright," or "My mom wouldn't approve of this…"

Eventually, I got bored of his attitude and, being at the moment, drunk, shoved a bunch of liquor down his throat. (Strong kid for surviving it, I must say) And it was all downhill after that. He ordered several bottles and we drank ourselves sick. What a night.

After our 'date,' Nathan dropped me back off at Pauline's house; he nearly crashed into several trees and cars on the way. And after entering into the house, I found that nothing had been robbed. (See? I told you that there was no difference and that it was perfectly safe.) I locked the front door behind me and after hobbling up the stairs, I collapsed onto the bed. Instantly.

I woke up this morning to be greeted by a massive hangover from last night.

"Ugh," I muttered, sitting up in bed. Then, I heard a voice from inside my head.

_See? I told you that this wasn't a good idea. Now look at yourself._

I told my inner self to shut the hell up before finding and changing into some decent clothes from Pauline's 'closet.' Then I headed downstairs to find two unknown people eating breakfast.

"Good morning Pauline," The woman at the breakfast table said. "You certainly woke up early."

"It's a record," The 17-year-old boy next to her muttered.

"…and you are…?" I asked, holding the railings to steady myself.

"Um, dear, are you alright?" The woman asked gazing at me affectionately when she noticed how unsteady I was. But, to be honest, she was kind of creeping me out.

"Alexander, you dipshit," The boy spat, returning to his breakfast. Well he wasn't the cheerful type.

"No cuss words at the table," The woman, apparently Pauline's mom, calmed gently. "Come Pauline, dear, have some breakfast." After I seated myself at the table and helped myself to some food, I decided to ask them some questions.

"Where am I?"

"Your house, idiot."

"Are you alright?"

"Where is my house?"

"Planet Earth. Get it right."

"Are you sure that you're alright?"

"What is planet Earth?"

"One of the planets in our solar system. Didn't they teach you that in elementary school?"

"Do you want some medicine?"

"What's a solar system and elementary school?"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"How's about we go to see a doctor…"

**(Hopefully you could tell who was speaking… if not, it was Shizune, Alexander, Mrs. Jane, and repeat :)**

And this is how it went for just about… the rest of breakfast. Afterwards, I headed back to Pauline's room. I had decided to, once again, check the mirror. Once I did, it came to my disappointment that I only saw Pauline's, good-looking reflection and not my own.

It was in the afternoon that I finally 'woke up' from my hangover and once again, to become the Shizune that I once was. (Except for the body that is…) Now the pressure and weight of the situation truly fell upon me like a ton of bricks. I was in an unknown world in an unknown body, living with unknown people, with no way back home. What was I supposed to do now? Well, I did the reasonable thing that my apparent 'Inner Shizune,' argued against. I left the house and walked around. After a few minutes of wandering around, I found myself in a park. The trees reminded me of the forest around the Leaf Village and I felt my eyes getting teary for a moment until the thought of the situation crossed my mind. No more tears after that.

There were a bunch of children playing around the park, screaming, chasing each other, looking at me funny and probably wondering why a teenage girl was in the park alone. However, I wasn't truly alone. Along the way, around the park, I was met by an adorable, female cat with ginger fur and bright green eyes.

"Hello there," I said, squatting down to pat the cat. "Might _you_ know the way to Konaha?" The feline just stared at me for a moment then cocked her head to the side before slightly nodding. "You can… understand me?" I asked out of disbelief. It was either this body that was making me delirious or this unknown world.

_I am your Inner Conscious… _A mysterious voice echoed inside my head.

_What? _I questioned the voice, staring the cat back.

_Me. I am known as Felis or… in other words, your Inner Conscious._

_ Um… and you're in the form of a cat? _

_ Yes. Currently. _I swear that this was just getting weirder and weirder…

_Okay… um… _The cat sat on her hunches and her tail swished back and forth.

_You say that you are looking for Konaha… As in, the Village Hidden in the Leaves… Am I correct? _I gasped and sat down on the ground with a thud.

_Y-You know…?_

_ Of course. I'm your Inner Conscious, I know everything!_

_ You're bluffing._

_ Do not question your Inner._

_ I am._

_ Do not. It would mean only certain doom._

_ Okay then, Inner, what am I supposed to do to return home?_

_ You must…_

And then, the dog came. It came and chased Inner. The dog chased her until I couldn't see either of them anymore. They both disappeared over the horizon. I thought about running after them, but reconsidered. The sun was now down and I was hungry. I guess that I would just have to search for Inner Conscious tomorrow.

**So yeah, I kind of made Felis/Inner Conscious randomly… But I hope that you guys don't think it was too weird of an idea… **

**I can't afford to lose readers!**

**So…**

**If you actually do have an issue with the whole Inner Conscious thingy… PM me and I'll make some changes :P**

**Please review!**

**And tell me what you think of Felis!**

**Thanks again! :)**

**Oh yes! And I would like to give another shout out (kind of.. ish?) to kippy10009! Thank you so much for like… reviewing a lot and putting my story as favorite story! Cookies for you!**

**Thank is all!**

**And as Reborn would say…**

**Ciaossu! **


	13. Chapter 13: Axel or Axe for Short

**I got a pedicure and a manicure! I'm such a girl hee hee :P**

**Well anyways, here's the chapter! **

**Enjoy! :)**

_**Kimberly: Konan's body at the Akatsuki hideout**_

_**Konan: Kimberly's body at the Amber's house**_

_**Pauline: Shizune's body at Konoha (Hokage's office)**_

_**Shizune: In Pauline's body at the Jane's house**_

**(And yeah… I'm just kind of copying and pasting the thing above in italics… Idk how long I'll keep that up… I mean if it'll help you…)**

Axel (Axe for short)

(Konan's P.O.V)

As I had said before, that I was going back to the playground to visit Axel, I did. And at that very same swing set, I met him there again. I actually had a very nice time. From Kimberly's room, I brought stacks on origami sheets and he showed me how to make several things. Of these, my favorites were the rose, crane, and the heart.

I arrived there, at the playground, after breakfast and left in the afternoon. And to be honest, I was taking a liking to this Axel boy.

Then, the next day, I met him again at our usual rendezvous point, the swings, and he continued to show me more origami; paper stars, cats, pigs, and even dragons!

I wasn't sure how many days I had met with him, but I continued to visit Axel and we always did new origami projects until one Monday evening when something that, even I, wasn't able to predict.

"Do you want to go…? I mean, tomorrow night, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"What?"

"C'mon, don't make me repeat myself…"

What was I to do? This wasn't even my own body and this boy didn't know that I was older than him… But I did the sensible thing that I'm sure many people in this world would do.

"Let me talk to my mother about it."

"Oh," Axel looked crestfallen and his fingers ceased folding the heart that he was making. "Well," He said, standing up from his swing, "I've got to go now, see you tomorrow morning Kim."

I really, truly did feel bad about what I did… rejecting him in the way that people in this world do… But what else could I have done? Said yes? No. That wouldn't do.

Well, when I arrived home, I did what I told Axel that I would do. I tapped Mrs. Amber on the shoulder.

"Mother?"

"Oh! Kim, what is it?"

"Um, you know Axel?"

"Yes," My mom, who was currently cooking, said as she grabbed a few carrots and began chopping them up, "That nice boy that you told me about who teaches you origami? What about him?"

"Well, you see," I began shyly, (for some apparent reason) "He asked me to dinner tomorrow." However, instead of the shocked reaction that I was expecting, Kimberly's mother continued to chop the carrots as if she had heard news as common as the weather.

"I knew that someday a nice boy would ask you out," She said, a bit teary-eyed, "But that's only to be expected… I mean you are a beautiful, sweet, young girl…"

"Um, mother?"

"Oh! I was just talking to myself, sweetie, of course you can go!" She smiled and dumped the carrots into a pot.

"Thank you," I told her quickly before retreating to Kimberly's room. To be honest, I was kind of hoping that Mrs. Amber would have said 'no' so that I would not have to 'go on a date' with Axel… I only considered him a temporary friend here in this world.

The next day, in the morning, when I met with Axel at the playground, I told him my, or rather my mother's, answer and I believe that hearing that alone made his day much brighter.

After we parted, earlier than usual, from the playground, I went straight home to get ready for tonight. I soon learned that the usual Kimberly wear wouldn't be acceptable. Instead, I would most likely have to resort to something 'fancy.' Kimberly's mother suggested a 'dress' which was actually quite eye-catching. And when the time came, I put on a silver necklace with a jeweled heart pendant handing from it.

When Axel arrived at the door in the evening, he stood there for a moment, stunned by how I looked in a dress. On the contrary, I did the same. He looked very neat and spiffy in his black 'tuxedo' with a red, paper rose tucked neatly into his left breast pocket. His usually untidy, red hair was nicely combed and parted. Upon seeing this, I pondered if I should have done something with Kimberly's hair as well.

"Hey…" He said in a withdrawn and nervous sort of way. I decided to help lighten up the situation.

"You look very nice, Axel," I complimented him with a smile.

"I told you, you can just call me Axe," He responded, the corners of his mouth turning slightly upwards. My mother arrived on the scene shortly after and greeted Axel in the same manner.

"Now you two have fun. You can walk to the restaurant from here, it's only five minutes and Axe," My mother grinned at the red-head, "Take care of my sweetheart and have her back before ten."

"Will do, Mrs. Amber," Axel said before guiding me off the porch.

"Bye mother," I said with a wave.

"Have fun," Mrs. Amber said, returning my wave. "You really have grown up Kimberly…"

**Yupp**

**So just like Shizune, I'm not really going to go in depth about how their date goes… Just gonna show what Konan thinks about it after in her next chapter :P**

**So yeah**

**Hope you guys like it! And yay! Back to daily updates! (hopefully… stupid getting ahead in math… Spanish… and school summer projects…)**

**But yeah :) **

**Please review! Loves ya! Baiii!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Weekly Akatsuki Meeting

**Yay! Back to Kimberly's chapter! (My personal favorite because she's probably the most similar to me :P)**

**PINKFUZZBALL DOESN'T OWN NARUTO even though she loves it so much! 3**

**Enjoy!**

The Weekly Akatsuki Meeting

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Was I expecting any different? Yeah, probably.

The Akatsuki hideout is as boring as—

"TOBI LOVES KONAN-CHAN!"

Ugh.

So I had gone out shopping with Kakuzu (don't ask) and along the way, I remembered from before, Tobi's emo moment, and I bought Tobi a teddy bear. I guess that you could say it looked like your standard, brown teddy bear, with an orange ribbon around its neck to match Tobi's mask. However, ever since I gave it to him, he's been pestering me about how much he loves me, apparently. This made Pein very, might you say, uncomfortable.

"Thank you Konan-chan!" Tobi squealed happily, hugging his teddy bear he named Teddie. We were in the living room, Kisame, Deidara, Itachi, Hidan, me, and Tobi.

"Sure, don't mention it," I muttered, waving my hand and returning to the Sudoku puzzle that I was working on. "Hm… already used nine… what can I-"

"Hn,"

"Oh! That's it!" I beamed at Itachi, He ignored my smile and continued reading his book.

"This is total bull shit!" I heard Hidan hiss from the coffee table. This was followed by an extremely malevolent laugh from Deidara and a chuckle from Kisame.

"I totally beat your socks, un!" Deidara cackled, racking in several poker chips. Earlier, Deidara had taught Kisame how to play the 'coin game' and they were playing it for awhile until Hidan had joined them, demanding that he was bored so they switched games.

"Yeah, you pretty much suck, dude," Kisame smirked, laughing at Hidan. However, the extremely pissed Hidan was too focused on finding his scythe to respond to Kisame and Deidara's comments. Once Hidan found his scythe, he declared,

"I'll chop up every one of you and sacrifice you to Jashin-"

"Just please shut up, you guys, I'm seriously getting sick of this," I commanded, stopping my pencil, mid paper. "Hidan, put down your scythe, and Deidara and Kisame, _say sorry._"

"Shut the hell up you-"

"Man, I can't believe you Konan… Sorry Hidan, dude…" Kisame muttered, setting his cards down.

"Fine, whatever, sorry Hidan, un,"

"I can't believe you either Konan… first you bash me in the head now…" His voice faded as he obediently rested his scythe on the floor before picking up his cards again.

"Good job," I said, smiling, while I pat the nearest head which just so happened to be Kisame's. He rolled his eyes before declaring,

"Oh! Take that you suckers!" Kisame jumped up and thrust his cards back on the table. "The money is mine!" This ruthless action caused Hidan to grab his scythe again.

"Why you… I'll sacrifice you to Jashin-"

And here we go again. See what I mean? It's an endless cycle of complete boringness that is doomed to kill you if it truly gets to you. However, I was thrilled when finally, something interesting happened; a change in pace. It was when Pein called a meeting. (Along with his usual deathly threats)

Once everyone was seated in the meeting room, (with me being at Leader's right, of course,) Pein stood up and announced,

"A select few of us will be permitted to take a vacation." Almost immediately, Hidan assumed that he wasn't included and yelled,

"Why the hell is it only a select few? Why don't we all go?" At this, Pein stared Hidan down until the poor Jashinist shrank back into his chair.

"Because," He began, "I have my reasons. Do not question them." No more questions; for the moment."Now I will announce the select few," The room was at a complete standstill while every Akatsuki member waited with bated breath. "It will be me, Konan, Kisame, and Kakuzu."

"I knew I wasn't going to be chosen…" Hidan mumbled miserably. To be honest, I almost felt bad for the guy.

"What about us?" The white half of Zetsu asked, sitting forward in his seat, "I believe that we work hard and that we deserve a vacation…"

"We could use some sun…" The black half of Zetsu added on. "It's good for photosynthesis, especially when food is hard to come by…" (Insert deathly stare from Zetsu directed at me here.)

"I told you." Pein said, returning the deathly stare that wasn't directed at him, back at Zetsu, "No. Questions." And thus, Zetsu shrank back in his chair as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Itachi sigh.

"Hn…"

"It's alright, dude," Kisame said cheerfully, patting his partner's back, "You'll get 'em next time!"

"Hn." Itachi said again, except more confidently, looking up at Pein, hope flaring in his eyes.

"You say… that this isn't a good list because nobody who's going has their partner except for me and Konan and in a worst case scenario, if we were attacked that we would be unable to fight as efficiently as we would have been able to if everyone had their partners?" Pein translated swiftly while I gasped silently. **(In the typical…) **He got that all from one 'Hn?'

The orange haired leader considered this for a moment before making his final decision,

"Fine then, you, Itachi, will be allowed to join." Hidan jumped up, once again, and yelled,

"That's not fair! What about Kakuzu? That idiot would never be able to kill a single thing out there without me by his side!" Pein sighed.

"Sit down before I choose to decapitate someone," He said. Hidan sat down, reluctantly. "If you will all just shut up," Pein continued, shooting the silver haired Jashinist a death glare, "I'll get rid of the list… and I know I'm going to regret this… but everybody is permitted to a vacation." Cheers rang throughout the room except for certain people such as Pein and Kakuzu who groaned in agony.

"I wonder if there are tasty ninjas out there that I can eat…"

"Hn."

"This better not cost too much money…"

"Tobi is so happy that Pein-sama allowed Tobi to go on vacation!"

"Shut up Tobi! Art is a bang, un!"

And with that, Deidara shut Tobi up with a huge explosion that ended the meeting, very abruptly.

Then, that night, after the meeting, in Konan's room, I checked the life-sized mirror once more. And finally, this time, I saw something different.

**Oh! What did Kimberly see? I don't even know! :P**

**Well, thanks for reading and reviewing! (And please continue to do so for this chapter!) Cookies to you all!**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	15. Chapter 15: Thoughtful Thinking

**Hey, so sorry I didn't update yesterday, I had a (somewhat) busy schedule and I had to type up this chapter too :P**

_**So much for daily updates!**_

**Shut up! Well, anyways, hope you enjoy!**

**(P.S. I think I'll stop the little blurb that I used to put up here for now…)**

Thoughtful Thinking

(Pauline's P.O.V)

Still curious and wondering about my encounter with Temari, I stepped into Tsunade's office to report what had happened in the whole incident with Danzo. But instead of the reaction that I had expected…

"That old geezer wouldn't be able to kill me even if he tried," She had told me lazily, waving her hand as if she was swatting a fly. "Don't sweat it."

"B-But," I was slipping into panic, "He was plotting to kill you!"

"As I told you before, he wouldn't be able to kill me," Her pen continued to move at an incredible speed across the paper. Tsunade's reading glasses slipped down her nose and she quickly nudged them back up in one swift motion.

"B-But…"

"Quite it," Her eyes found mine and they didn't look too happy. "You're starting to sound like the _real _Shizune," Tsunade rolled her eyes before returning to her work. I sighed.

"Whatever, if Danzo comes to kill you later, don't come cryin' to me," I told her sarcastically, leaving the room unexcused. To let off steam and to think over the events that had just happened, I decided to take a stroll through good old Konoha, making sure to avoid the bar that I visited last time.

_If Danzo wanted to be hokage that badly, _I thought to myself, _there's better, more subtle ways of achieving that status without murdering someone innocent! _In the midst of my thoughts, I passed by a snack shop that was selling delicious looking chocolate bananas. I couldn't help myself, so I dug out Shizune's wallet and bought one of the tasty looking snacks. Chewing it thoughtfully, I continued my thinking. _… and besides, who was that other man he was talking too? Couldn't have been anyone I knew…hm… Maybe it could've been- _But before I could finish the thought, a young boy jumped into the road right in front of me.

"I challenge thee, oh great assistant of the hokage!" He declared, pointing a wooden sword at me.

"What?" But my question was never answered because a boy with blonde hair, who I recognized as Naruto, strolled out with his hands behind his head.

"What did I tell you Konohamaru? You're doing it all wrong!" He turned to me, and in that always immature way of his, he declared, "Hey! You old fart, Shizune, I challenge you and Grandma Tsunade to a battle!" He turned to his young apprentice and smiled, "See? That's how you do it!" Instead of being mad, I laughed. Seeing the old Naruto, even in his older self, was always something that brightened your spirits.

"Sorry you two, you can't see Lady Tsunade right now, she's _very _busy," I said, waggling my chocolate banana in front of them. "Maybe next time." The boy, Konohamaru, looked crestfallen while Naruto pat him, in a reassuringly way, on the back.

"It's okay," The blonde nodded his good bye before guiding his apprentice away. I chuckled softly before deciding to head back to the Hokage's Office.

It was nearly night time and I had just been sitting and pacing around in Shizune's room for the last hour, thinking and thinking. (I'm usually not the thinky type but this was a special occasion!) Subconsciously, I walked up to Shizune's mirror and look a look inside and gasped. There was finally something different and this time, this precious moment in time, had been the fifth time that I checked the mirror. Thank you Lady Hokage!

**OHMIGOSH! This chapter was so short… well sorry about that! It was kind of like a filler chapter… but the ending is pretty important :P *wink wink***

**I would like to thank Immortal-Puppet-Otaku for helping me devise the coming arc of the story! *rubs hands together evilly***

**Well, hope you enjoyed it!**

_**If that's possible…**_

**Shut up! Well, please do review! :)**


	16. Chapter 16: The Secret of Inner

**Okey dokey, it's Shizune's time to shine!**

**And, I really do apologize for kind of, in a way, staggering my updates… I don't mean to it's just that I think that writer's block and my hurting wrists are starting to affect my writing… and I guess you don't want to hear my complaining… even I don't! well, without further ado…**

**PINKFUZZBALL DOES NOT OWN NARUTO**

The Secret of Inner

(Shizune's P.O.V)

After a delicious breakfast from Mrs. Jane and a violent tongue lashing from Alexander, I headed out around 11 to go search for Inner Conscious. By instinct alone, the first place I headed to was, obviously, the park. Since it was morning, not that many people, including children, weren't out which only made my job just the slightest bit easier.

By retracing my steps back to where I had a mental conversation with Inner, I found the area where I had last saw her. (I think it was a her…) But, to my great disappointment, I found not a single, female cat waiting for me there. In my head rang the end of our conversation…

_You say that you are looking for Konaha… As in, the Village Hidden in the Leaves… Am I correct? _

_Y-You know…?_

_ Of course. I'm your Inner Conscious, I know everything!_

_ You're bluffing._

_ Do not question your Inner._

_ I am._

_ Do not. It would mean only certain doom._

_ Okay then, Inner, what am I supposed to do to return home?_

_ You must…_

I sighed. This must've been the certain doom that she was talking about. And if this isn't it, I don't even want to begin to imagine what worse events could take place in my life.

As I sifted through several bushes in the surrounding areas, I let my thoughts drift back to Konoha. How is Lady Tsunade doing? Is Naruto and Konohamaru up to their old tricks? Oh! I just realized! Konoha is in Konohamaru's name! And he's the grandson of the fourth hokage! Hm… makes sense if you really think about it-

And then, right before my eyes dashed a streak of silver and I knew, instantly, that it was Inner. However, before I could run and chase after her, someone else, or rather, _something _else was a step ahead of me. It was that same, big, hairy, brown dog that was chasing after poor Inner. Without a collar or any sort of nametag, I suspected that it was just an ordinary stray and in one swift motion, caught a hold of its long, shaggy tail.

"Hey you, dog, stop chasing my cat!" Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Inner stopping dead in her tracks and in an irritated tone, meow in my head,

_MY cat…?_

However, before I had a chance to respond the dog quickly rebounded and bit my hand and believe me, he bit it hard.

"Ouch!" I squealed, releasing the dog's tail. "I just wanted to stop you!"

_Save it for someone who cares… _Grunted a deep, angry voice. I froze. Was it the dog that just spoke in my mind?

"Who… are you?" The dog casually began scratching his ear with his foot, temporarily losing interest in chasing Inner, before turning to stare at me.

_I know that you are Shizune. Your exterior won't fool me. _The dog sneezed and a good distance away, Inner flinched.

_Shizune, don't worry about HIM… Just ignore him and get out of here! I can take care of myself-_

_ Shut it, cat, _The dog barked. _I am __Hideaki. You probably don't know me but I was one of Orochimaru's old, and most trusted, pupil._

"Orochi… maru?" I cursed under my breath. "Why have you come here, Hideaki? To do that filthy snake's bidding?" I heard the dog snicker then turn his back to me.

_Why would you care? This is none of your business!_

"Yes it is!" I rebounded, taking a step forward, "Inner has to tell me how to return home!"

_Inner? Don't make me laugh! To hell if she knew the way back! She doesn't even know how to get herself back home!_

"Wait…" My heart stopped. "Are you two ninjas from the ninja world as well?"

_You got that right, _Hideaki sniffed. _Now if you don't mind, I have a score to settle with that cat…_

"No!" I screamed, pelting after the now running dog, "Please come back! I have to ask you many things!"

_Just leave us be, please! It is true what he says! _I froze in my tracks, watching the two escape from the park. _I wish you… good luck and I am sorry to have deceived you… _Inner's voice faded away and soon I could no longer see either animals.

The first thought that came to mind was this: Was everything a lie?

"So," I said to myself, "That's it…" Then I was filled with sudden rage. "Then how the hell am I supposed to get back home? ANSWER ME!"

Later that night, in Pauline's room, I thought over my actions today and smacked myself in the forehead for it. Boy had I acted dumb. However, now I knew that I wasn't the only ninja trapped in this world… in a different, might you say, body. But now I was real eager to know who the two ninjas where, what land they came from and what village. Were they allies or enemies? Until around 11 at night, I simply paced around in Pauline's room and pondered things until my eyelids grew heavy and I literally collapsed onto the bed. What would I find out tomorrow if I went searching for Hideaki and Inner? What would happen if I found them? Does Hideaki know the way home? How did they even get into the bodies of animals? What if the spirits of animals were controlling their bodies back at home? I shivered at the thought. Luckily I have another human being taking good care of mine…

**Hope you liked it! And I am SUPER sorry if my chapters seem so short! (Or even if they are truly short!) I don't mean too! Lo siento! (Sorry in Spanish! :P)**

**Well, as usual, please do review!**

**And**

**Until next time…**

**Chao!**


	17. Chapter 17: The Truth Be Told

**Yo! Happy Independence Day/ 4****th**** of July! :) or rather, the day after :P**

**Hope you all got to catch some massive fireworks out there tonight! (for those of you in the US of course :P)**

**Well, here's the chapter!**

The Truth Be Told

(Konan's P.O.V)

I realized, after our 'date', that I knew a lot more about 'Axe' than I gave myself credit for…

For starters, when I saw the menu at the restaurant that we were at, I guessed Axe's favorite foods and to my surprise, I was correct. Also, since I knew that Axe was kind and could never turn anyone down, when the waiter asked if he wanted to order the special with the meal that he was already getting, of course Axe said 'yes'. Towards the end of our 'dinner date', when the waiter brought the bill, I asked my date if he was going to give the waiter a 'tip' and, yes, you guessed it. He tipped the waiter fifteen dollars.

After Axe dropped me off at my house and we said our good-byes, thankfully, Mrs. Amber didn't pester me with too many questions…

"How was it, dear?" She was currently washing dishes and I was sitting at the table, doing origami.

"It was good."

"What'd you order there?"

"Just the standard… um, spaghetti…"

"I see, was it good?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you planning to see him tomorrow?"

"Yes, as usual."

"Alright," And that was the end of our 'mother and daughter' talk, apparently. Once I had finished the pig that I had been making at the table, I went up to Kimberly's room to go to bed.

Later that night, while I was fast asleep in bed, Mrs. Amber had long since finished the dishes and she was no sitting on her king sized bed, flipping through the pages of a book, absentmindedly. However, this wasn't any ordinary book. This one was handcrafted and contained many pictures of Kimberly's father, Mr. Amber, the father she never knew.

The next morning, before I headed out to the playground, I was stopped by Mrs. Amber.

"Kim, dear, can I talk to you before you leave?" At this, uncertainty flashed across my face. What could she possibly want? I didn't do anything bad! Seeing the look on my face, Mrs. Amber said, "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with anything that you've done." After that, I breathed a little easier.

"So what's this talk going to be about?" We seated ourselves on the living room couch with Mrs. Amber holding a leather covered book in her lap.

"I know that I haven't told you or David this… ever… but, I believe that you are old enough…" She flipped open the book to the first page. In front of my eyes I saw Kimberly Amber's father, smiling, and carrying Mrs. Amber in his arms, bridal style. The photo was black and white but that didn't hide or cover the fact that both people in the photo were extremely and unmistakably happy.

"This is…"

"Yes," Mrs. Amber nodded. "You never got to meet him before and until now, never got to see him… and I sincerely apologize… But, in all honesty, you should know how your father died." At that instance, I froze. This was Mrs. Amber thinking that she was talking to her daughter when, in fact, she was talking to an unknown stranger. I wasn't supposed to know about their family past nor did I ever want to! Panic began swelling inside my chest as my decision formed inside my mind.

"Mrs. Amber." I stated bluntly, looking into her sad, misty eyes with an expression that showed that I was of full and entire seriousness. "I am… not your daughter… nor am I who you think I am. In fact, if you were ever to meet me in my real body, you would probably cower in fear." The woman sniffed and wiped away a tear.

"What are… you talking about? You're my dear Kimberly… My first daughter…"

"No I'm not. I'm anything but your first daughter. My name is Konan and I am from the Akatsuki."

**Whoa… this chapter was probably the shortest so far… but its importance is HUGE!**

**Sorry that I wasn't able to update yesterday! Fireworks for the wiin! :)**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy! **

**And in the next chapter, I believe that I'll be doing another 'thank you' segment!**

**Well, thanks for reading and reviewing! Please do for this chapter as well!**

**Bye bye!**


	18. Chapter 18: An Unexpected Switch

**Okey dokey!**

**So here is the moment that I have been preparing for… It's back to Kimberly's P.O.V!**

**Enjoy!**

An Unexpected Switch

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Okay, I might've screamed, I admit that, but there was reason, I assure you! And after, at least ten days of being at the Akatsuki hideout, I finally had a way out because right in front of me, standing in the mirror, was my new savior; Shizune.

"Are you… really there?" I asked the mirror in a timid voice, waving my hand in front of her face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The black haired shinobi hissed, glaring at me. "And aren't you Konan?" Geez… was more harsh than I expected…

"Um, yeah, and aren't you Shizune? The hokage's assistant?"

"Psh," The reflection in my mirror spat, "I ain't anybody's assistant! I'm just trying to find a way out of here!"

"Wait…" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Out of… where?"

"This body of course!" Shizune cursed under her breath. "And that Tsunade is making me work my ass off…"

"… Pauline?" Shizune froze.

"Wait… nobody but Tsunade and Tonton were supposed to…" She turned her head to get a good look at me and after a moment's pause, murmured, "… Kim?"

"NO WAY!" I squealed, jumping into the mirror and totally forgetting about what had happened in the very beginning about the mirror being like water. "It's really-" And that was when I realized that I was staring into the reflection of Konan.

"Ah crap…" I muttered before going into full on panic mode, "Quick! Switch back…!" But my cries were cut off by someone entering Konan's room. It was Itachi.

"Ready? Leader-sama told me to-" The Uchiha stiffened at the look on Konan's face. Oh, did I forget to mention? Pauline is a _huge, _and I mean a HUGE Itachi fan…

"ITACHI!" Through the mirror I saw Konan, or rather, Pauline, jump at Itachi and land right on top of him.

"Dammit Pauline… now we can't switch back!" But I didn't really have the time to say that because Shizune's door was busted down and in came, none other than, Danzo.

"Here you are… Now let's finish what we started…" The elder smirked in a sick way that only he could pull off. From the other side of the mirror, Pauline looked up from her smothering of Itachi and ran straight to the mirror and pressed her face right up against it. Too bad I wasn't looking otherwise we might've been able to have switched back… not that she'd want to, though.

"Get back here, Danzo!" I heard Konan's threats from behind the mirror that the old elder could not hear. "We have a score to settle!" She now began pounding her fist against the glass but I didn't dare take my eyes off Danzo, especially since it was the one and only Danzo. "Why you old geezer… Kim! Tear that old fart to shreds!" I heard Pauline's voice fading towards the end and I could only assume that Itachi had taken her away to, for one, fulfill what Pein had told him to do, and two, to get ready for the 'vacation'. Lucky duck.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." At my comment, Danzo smirked even more.

"Don't play with me, poison princess, you know as well as I do, my plans so I in turn cannot allow you to live. Does that jog anything in that empty head of yours?" I clenched my fists. Not only had he done something to make Pauline mad, but he had also deprived me of the, possibly, only chance to talk to my best friend.

"What you did, I don't know… but what I do know is that you made me miss the chance to talk to the only person I know in this world…" I raised my head and glared at him, my eyes bearing into his head. "And possibly my only way back home!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about as well, but what I know," Danzo shifted himself into his fighting stance, "Is that I have to kill you."

_Please don't do anything stupid, Pauline… _I pleaded, lunging at Danzo.

"Do you really think," He threw his left arm back, having his right arm hold his cane, and punched me directly in the stomach. "That a head on attack would not do anything-" But in a poof of smoke, the spot where I was was replaced by a table lamp and due to the force from his punch, the innocent lamp shattered. Behind his back, I reappeared and drew my kunai knife. Not knowing where my ninja skills came from or what had gotten into my head, but I thrust the knife through Danzo's heart, feeling his warm blood splatter across my face and I smiled, subconsciously until I heard his voice.

"I commend you on killing my fake…" And with that, the Danzo I had stabbed went up in a cloud of smoke. When it had cleared, the blood on my face and kunai was gone and I was alone in the room with the mirror showing Shizune's reflection with Danzo's voice still ringing in my ears. "You didn't think that I was actually there, did you? Even in our earlier battle I wasn't truly there but it was rather a clone." I cursed under my breath and spun around to find another Danzo waiting at the door. "And I scold myself for thinking that you could've done better…" He shook his head and walked away. _What a lame exit, _I thought, turning back to the mirror. Pauline was gone and I was still in the ninja world in another body. Tears began streaming down my face as I pounded my fists against the mirror out of frustration. _I want to go home…_

**Yay! Hopefully this chapter was interesting! (sorry to have to put you through the other chapters in all their boringness…)**

**But yeah! So next time it'll be Pauline showing her point of view!**

**Remember to review! Thanks for reading!**

**Adios amigos!**


	19. Chapter 19: Elevator Adventures

**Okey dokes, I hope I can get back into the swing of things here… and hopefully not run into writer's block :P**

**Well, that's beside the point… **

**Here's the chapter!**

Elevator Adventures

(Pauline's P.O.V)

There was one good thing about being in Konan's body, getting to see Itachi just about 24/7, however, the bad thing was Pein glowering at my favorite Uchiha just about 24/7.

After the, apparent, secret switch, Itachi took, or rather dragged, me over to the meeting room with me clinging onto him the whole way. What! I'm a huge Itachi fan! In the meeting room, however, I was forced to sit down next to the orange haired leader.

"We shall be departing for our vacation-"

"Oh, my, gosh, we're going on a vacation?" I squealed, squirming in my seat with excitement. Pein looked away and swallowed his anger before continuing.

"Yes, Konan, we announced that yesterday, I presume…"

"Okey dokey," I said, calming down a bit.

"ANYWAYS," Pein began in a semi-annoyed tone, "Before I was _interrupted, _I was saying how we shall be departing for our vacation-"

"Who's going?" I couldn't help myself, the question just popped out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Pein, once again, suppressed his anger very well and answered my question.

"Everyone is going, _Konan, _we decided that _yesterday._"

"Oh," I said nodding feverishly. Boy, someone had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. In a hasty voice, to prevent further interruptions, Pein continued,

"We shall be leaving in about two hours, giving you a chance to finish packing for the trip. Our destination will be down south, since most of the Akatsuki members are not known well down there. It will be at the edge of the Country of Wind, near the water. It will be a beach."

"A beach?" I exclaimed, "But I don't have a swimsuit, here, I mean, I have one at home but I'll need to buy one! Preferably a blue one but if you can't afford a cute, blue one with frilly edges then I guess I'll have to deal with-" Now Pein had had enough.

"KONAN," He said in a voice that made me shut up, immediately, while the other members watched on with wide eyes. Apparently none of them had ever seen Pein scold Konan before. "I do _not _appreciate your sudden… _outbursts. _Let me finish _explaining._" His voice quivered with frustration and his hands clenched the sides of the table so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Alright, I get it… I get it…" I mumbled, sinking down into my chair and avoiding the amused gazes of the other Akatsuki members.

"Meeting dismissed." Pein declared roughly, leaving the room in a hurry. Once he was out of earshot, Hidan was the first to laugh and soon the others chime in.

"Way to go, Konan!" The silver haired, Jashinist said through his laughing fit, "You sure got Leader-sama all riled up!" I looked around the room. Geez, even Itachi was suppressing a laugh. However, much to my surprise, I ended up laughing with them. Little did I know that, all the while laughing, deep down I had hurt Pein.

We left the hideout exactly two hours later. I found some sort of suitcase in Konan's room and packed in her hygienic items and a bunch of Akatsuki cloaks, the only clothes she basically had. I reminded myself to go shopping once we got to our vacationing spot.

In moments, all the Akatsuki members had assembled in the living room and we all gathered in circle with Pein standing somewhat in the middle. He shot me a fearful look before speaking,

"Only me and Itachi will need to perform this jutsu that will teleport us to our hotel that we have rented out. On my count, Itachi," And in moments, the two ninja began rapidly weaving hand signs and in a flash of light, we were all standing in a five star resort.

"Whoa…" I looked around in wonder. I wasn't the only one, the others were as well, except for Kakuzu.

"This resort… for all of us must've cost…" He continued mumbling to himself and I didn't bother listening to him and his money obsession because Pein was talking again,

"We have reserved multiple rooms that are all on the same floor. You will be rooming with your partner, which means, Kisame and Itachi, Tobi and Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu, and Zetsu, you will be rooming with me and Konan." I heard his voice falter a bit towards the end but I decided to ignore it. "I have the room keys here," He declared, whipped out nine shiny keys that reminded me of credit cards. "To unlock your rooms, you slide this into a slot near the handle, wait for a green light to flash, and the door will open." Finishing his explanation, he threw the cards, one for each member, ninja-star style and everyone caught it with ease, including me, to my surprise. "Go." He said, leading everyone towards the elevator.

Now, let me be the first to tell you that our elevator trip up to our rooms was not the most pleasant. In a word, I can describe it as, awkward. So, first of all, we had to travel up in two separate groups and in the first group, an angry mob of tourists refused to let the second group take the elevator up right after the first.

"But there's plenty of other fucking elevators over there!" Hidan hissed, pointing at the other elevator right next to the first. The lead, badly burned tourist huffed and pressed the up button for the elevator rather roughly, ignoring Hidan's comment.

The first group, Pein, Zetsu, Tobi, Deidara, and Kakuzu had probably already reached their destination by now and when the elevator came back down, that freaking angry mob of tourists just crammed themselves into the elevator the moment the silver doors open.

"Ah, fuck, I should've just gone with the other group…" Muttered Hidan as the doors closed and the angry mob was whisked away. Now, here's what I meant about awkward, a blue shark man with gigantic sword on his back, a silver haired man with a scythe at hand, an Uchiha, and a purple haired woman waiting for an elevator was not a normal sight, especially when some other nicer tourists came to ride the elevator up.

When we all crammed into the elevator, it hit us. We didn't know what floor we were on or what room numbers we were, only Pein knew.

"Great…" Kisame muttered, rolling his eyes. "I'm just going to press a random button." And so he did, choosing floor seven out of nineteen. Thankfully, the other tourists got off at the first floor, the one above the lobby, leaving the four of us with the elevator all to ourselves. However, upon further inspection, our room was not on the seventh floor.

"Shit," Hidan mumbled.

"Hn."

"You know what Itachi, I'd like to see you take a better guess!" Roared Kisame, his hand looking about ready to grab his sword. Itachi didn't say anything. Instead, he, in a fury of fingers, pressed all nineteen buttons, excluding the lobby, in succession; it all happened in less than a second. The elevator gave a lurch and began it's descent.

"I guess that works…" Kisame shrugged, his anger ebbing away.

After we had checked out floors one through ten, I couldn't hold out my frustration anymore.

"Geez, why didn't Pein just give us the freaking floor before?"

"Hn."

"Agreed…"

"I don't fucking care right now!" Then, it came to me.

"Um… guys," I pulled out the shiny room key that Pein had given to us and just by gazing at it, I let out a groan.

"What is it?" Kisame asked, looking at the key and soon, he let out a groan as well. Soon Hidan and Itachi saw as well. What did we see? Well, my friends, on the card key were numbers and letters in big bold that said: **Floor 11; Room number 1143 **

Of course our room numbers varied, slightly, but you get the point! And of course, our next floor was the eleventh one. The elevator dinged and we stepped out onto the floor to be met by an angry looking Akatsuki mob.

"What took you so long," Pein growled, threateningly, shooting me angry looks.

"What're you talking about?" Kisame said, raising his hands into the air to show his innocence.

"Hn."

"Fine," Pein said, walking away. "But only because of Itachi and his detailed explanation." I smiled secretly. If this is what it was like to be in the Akatsuki, I think I'd want to live with these guys forever!

**So yupp, pretty bad ending… I know…**

**I hope you guys enjoyed, none the less!**

**Now, I'll be doing another thank you session!**

**Special thanks to the following:**

**kippy10009 for reviewing**

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**Thanks once again and I hope that I didn't miss anyone! PM me if I did! :)**

**Please please please review! I want to try to reach 50 so please review!**

**Thanks again and again! :P**

**Bye bye!**


	20. Chapter 20: Ninja in Shining Armor

**Heyy**

**I'm real sorry (to those of you who care) About not updating in awhile :P Just been busy and bumping into writer's block here and there…**

**Sigh**

**Well then… without further ado… here it is!**

Ninja in Shining Armor 

(Shizune's P.O.V)

When I woke up the next morning, the first thought that came to my head was, _I need to get back home. _Apparently, last night, when I had returned to Pauline's home late after my loss and discovery of the secrets of Inner and Hideaki, Mrs. Jane did _not _approve with her 'daughter' returning home after a certain hour. With Alexander snickering in the background, Mrs. Jane yelled her head off and gave me a two hour long lecture of getting home before dark and about the many kidnappers in the area. I returned back upstairs feeling pretty glum as I slumped down on Pauline's bed with my hands in my head when I heard a light tapping against the window. I turned my window and saw a darkened and shadowy face pressed right up against the curtain-less windows of Pauline's bedroom and I suppressed a scream as I took a closer look at the face; _Nathan? What was he doing here?_

I continued to stare in wonder as he continued his annoying tapping. Upon a closer look, I saw him mouthing words and making hand gestures but I ignored him and went over to Pauline's bathroom and gazed into the mirror. As time ticked on, however, his rapping and tapping became more fervent and I finally gave up and opened the window, angrily.

"What do you want at 10 o'clock at night?"

"Um… I haven't seen or talked to you in awhile… I mean, I've seen you… like, around in the park but you seemed… busy… So I didn't want to bother you…"

"So," I said, sitting down and resting my elbows on the window sill, "You came to my house and climbed all the way up to the window just to talk to me?" He nodded happily,

"I just thought it would be more romantic than ringing the door bell…"

"Well," I began, a thought forming in my head, "Do you want to… help me?" Nathan looked up at me straight in the eye and nodded eagerly.

"Of course!"

"Well, you see, I've been looking for a silver haired, female cat and a big shaggy, brown dog around the park and I was wondering if you could help me find them."

"Of course!" He said once again and leaned forward. "Just tell me when."

"Tomorrow morning, at the park, by the swings… alright?"

"Of cour-" Before he could finish his response, Nathan lost his footing, apparently, and slipped and fell. I gasped and leaned over the edge,

"Are you… okay down there?" I saw his darkened figure sprawled out on the ground and in a feeble voice he called back,

"Yeah! Sure, don't worry about it, see you tomorrow!" And with that, he stood up and raced off, waving, making me wonder how he got up to my window in the first place.

Now, just as I had said earlier, this morning, how the first thought that came to my head was, _I need to get back home, _well, the reason behind this is because of what met me when I first woke up.

"Get your lazy ass down here! Some dude's here to see you!" And, of course, it was Alexander and at the door was probably Nathan. However, Alexander had pushed me to the limit, waking me up, first thing in the morning, by screaming and yelling. Well, it wasn't much different back at home with Tsunade… But just thinking of home made me feel homesick.

So, sunk waist deep in rage, I hurried downstairs, still in my pajamas with my hair all tangled, and got right up in Alexander's face.

"WHAT GAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING? I JUST WOKE UP AND WHAT DO I HEAR, FIRST THING? YOUR DAMN VOICE! SO BACK OFF AND QUIT BEING SUCH A DOUCHE!" Then, I turned to Nathan and lowered my voice, "Just gimme a second to get ready and I'll be right down." And with that, I headed back upstairs leaving and shocked Alexander and a silent, snickering Nathan downstairs.

After getting changed, I returned downstairs to find that Pauline's good old brother Alexander had left, leaving Nathan standing awkwardly at the door. I slipped on Pauline's shoes and closed the front door behind me, beaming at Nathan.

"You ready?"

Our search throughout the park was rather unsuccessful and unfruitful… However, near the beginning of our search, I discovered something that I didn't expect to see. At the playground, I spotted two other teens on the swings and they seemed to be having fun, folding paper and laughing together. I smiled. _Ah, young love. _

On the way back to Pauline's house, Nathan and I were in a heated debate.

"I'm telling you, ninjas just aren't cool!"

"What are you talking about? You don't even know the half of it!" At this comment, Nathan sighed and rested his hands behind his head.

"Geez Pauline, you act like you are an actual ninja… and you're defending them…" I, at that moment, was about to spill the beans but I immediately thought against it. If I had told him, that would've probably led to my demise.

"Well," Nathan began as we approached my driveway, "I have to admit, being a ninja would be kind of neat…" He karate chopped the air, "You know, have all those ninja skills and everything!" I laughed out loud.

"Ninjas don't karate chop," As I said the last two words, I imitated his 'chop.' "They do things like…" I looked up at the old tree that was in my yard and leapt a good five feet into the air and landed onto one of the higher and stronger branches of the oak tree. I beamed down at Nathan who was staring, mouth open, wide eyed, at me as if he had just seen a ghost.

"How did you…"

_Oh man, _I thought, _I'm screwed… Will I have to tell him the truth…? No! I can't… that wouldn't be… _

"Just get down here!" Nathan shouted, cupping his mouth in his hands, "I don't want you to get hurt!" I was about to shout back, "Don't worry about me, I'm a trained professional!" But instead, I obediently jumped down and landed next to him. "Now, let's get you back home," He finished, continuing up the rest of my driveway.

_This Nathan boy really does care for Pauline… He's like her… Ninja in shining armor… only, he's not a ninja… _I chuckled to myself and ran to catch up to Nathan.

**When I finished this chapter… I felt better! *kicks writer's block in the butt***

**Okey dokes! Well, I hoped you enjoyed and as always, REVIEW!**

**Bye biii **


	21. Chapter 21: The Journal of Kimberly

**First I want to give a special thanks to all of you who reviewed and helped me reach my goal! Thanks! **

**Now, second…**

**Here's the next chapter!**

The Journal of Kimberly

(Konan's P.O.V)

"Who are… the Akatsuki?"

That was the first thing Mrs. Amber asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"The Akatsuki are the main S-rank, criminal organization in the ninja world."

That was my response.

"… What ninja world?"

That was the second thing Mrs. Amber asked.

"The ninja world is not of this world… It consists of shinobi, such as I, Konan, as well as lands, ninja villages, and leaders."

That was my second response.

Silence.

"So, you aren't my daughter?"

Her third question.

"In short, no."

"My third response.

Another silence.

A long one.

I waited.

And finally, she spoke.

"Okay then… If you aren't my daughter… please do what you can, Konan… was it? To bring my daughter back."

And that was the end of our discussion.

After that, Mrs. Amber got up and left, leaving me alone, sitting on the couch.

To be honest, I felt bad for that woman but this wasn't my fault and I, just as much as she did, wanted to switch back.

The next morning, seeing there was nothing else to do, I met Axe at the playground again. We had our usual laughs and folded origami together. That was, until, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Kimberly's friend, Pauline I believe it was, peering into bushes and looking around the park with another boy who I didn't recognize. I was curious, but then again, I didn't really know the girl too well so I didn't have any business with her.

When I returned back to the Amber's house late that evening, Mrs. Amber didn't talk to me much. She glanced up from the dishes that she was washing and asked in a bland tone,

"Did you have fun hanging out with Axe today?"

"Yes," I said, nodding and heading upstairs. For some reason, she seemed to be mad at me. To be perfectly honest, I didn't understand why, I mean, it wasn't my fault! She could at least be a little kinder.

The next few days passed along quietly with me being with Axe most of the days, David being obnoxious around the house, and Mrs. Amber with her household chores.

Late one night, in my bedroom, I was looking through Kimberly's drawer for some different origami papers when I stumbled across an orange, spiral notebook. Taking it from the shelf, I sat down at the desk and leafed through the heavily penciled pages, my eyes scanning each one briefly. Then, it struck me. _This must be… It has to be! This is Kimberly's journal._

**WOW… this chapter now has the record for the shortest chapter ever… TT^TT**

**Ah well, hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless! **

**Please please review! I'm begging you!**

**(do it for the rhyme that I just said :P)**

**Until next time, bye bye!**


	22. Chapter 22: Work, Work, and More Work

**Yeah, I'm kind of lacking in motivation nowadays… **

**I do sincerely apologize, to those of you who care :P**

**Hope this chapter can make it up to you! :)**

Work, Work, and More Work

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

After the, what you might call it, battle with Danzo, I somehow ended up wandering into the Hokage's office where a very displeased looking Tsunade was sitting behind her desk with her hands folded across her desk.

"Word of what happened in Shizune's room has reached me, you know," She said in a monotone voice. Panic began rising in my chest. _Did she know who I was? What did Pauline tell or say to her while she was in Shizune's body?_

"So tell me… explain," Tsunade began stroking the Tonton that was in her lap, "What happened, exactly, Pauline?" I was immediately confused. _Pauline? Huh, so I guess that girl told the hokage her true identity... Guess I might as well do the same…_

"I'm actually not Pauline, Miss Tsunade, I'm her friend, Kimberly…" I saw the blonde sigh before speaking again. She closed her eyes as she spoke,

"That's what I meant by _explain_," She said with a hint of annoyance as if she were bored out of her mind with nothing else better to do.

"Okay then…" I began hesitantly before launching into the whole story about how I began in Earth, traveled to the Akatsuki hideout, then came into Shizune's body and had a battle with Danzo. I watched as her emotions flickered across her face; Anger and curiosity at the mentioning of the Akatsuki and complete and obvious boredom at the fighting part.

"So," She said slowly, "You know where the Akatsuki hideout is…?"

I shrugged, "Evidently so." Incredulously, Tsunade raised her eyebrows and looked up in amusement,

"How's about telling me where it is?" Almost immediately I shook my head in response,

"No can do, Miss Tsunade."

"Why not?" She had raised her voice.

"Because… I guess you could call them my friends… or good familiars… I just can't betray them like that." She sighed heavily and slammed her head onto her desk as if she had just fallen asleep.

"Do you know how to do work?" She asked miserably.

"Um, if you show me how I'm sure that I could get it." Then, to my surprise, she raised her head and chucked a pen at me. I caught it.

"Grab a chair and get over here. We've got a lot of work to do."

Working, in the ninja world… There's only one word to describe it; seriously boring. That's two words? Whatever, you get my point.

We finished 'working' extremely late into the night and around midnight, Tsunade went and brought Sake and drank herself sick until she literally collapsed onto her desk, unconscious which left me to finish the rest of the day's workload which was so not fun.

I headed back to Shizune's room around, oh, let's see, four in the morning? To be honest I was pretty cautious, considering what had happened earlier with Danzo, and I had much trouble falling asleep. Thankfully, Tonton lept onto my lap and fell asleep right there and I felt much better after that, knowing that I had the company of another.

The next day, or rather, later that morning, was pretty dull. Work, work, work was all that we did and Tsunade didn't even let me try or research or even look for a way to return home! Apparently, when Pauline was here, she was required to check the mirror five times a day but since the amount of work had increased, I guess that I wasn't allowed that much leisure time, if you dare to call it that. The only break that I ever got during the day was to either go to the bathroom, lunch break, or the occasional snack. Once in awhile a shinobi from the Leaf would poof in and report but then just like that, they would poof back; most likely because of the heavy weight of boredom in the air.

Then, one day, I couldn't take it anymore.

"What the heck! Aren't you the hokage of Konoha? Aren't you supposed to do _great _things out there like stop fights, make treaties, have fun? Is it all just work here?" Tsunade looked up, mildly interested in my sudden outbreak,

"Calm down, Kimberly, but to answer your question, most days it is and I can understand how you feel. After my first three days like this I went completely mad," She laid her pen down and leaned back into her chair, "But thanks to Shizune I was able to keep up." Tsunade smiled, remembering, possibly, fond memories from the past. "Good times…"

"Um," I began, waving my hand in front of her face after about five minutes of Tsunade in her La La Land, "Can I have a break then… please? Pretty please?" I put my hands together and bowed my head down low. Then, I felt Tsunade's hand clap the back of my head and she laughed,

"Of course you can! All good shinobi need a break!" She stood up from her chair and yawned, causing Tonton to hop down from her lap and squeal in protest. "How's about the two of us get out there and have some fun?" She winked and I got a bad feeling bubbling in my stomach. This wasn't going to be good.

**It's hard for me to start chapters but once I get writing it's fun! :)**

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	23. Chapter 23: Couple Fight

Couple Fight

(Pauline's P.O.V)

After our 'quarrel' with the elevators, we each separated into our designated rooms.

I quietly followed Pein and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zetsu lurking somewhere in the shadows.

When we reached the room, I watched as the orange-haired shinobi unlocked the door and head inside without bothering to hold the door open for me.

"Geez… what's up with him?" I muttered to myself as I walked into the room. The hotel room, in all honesty, was standard. You know, with a kitchen, bathroom, beds, balcony only there was one thing that bothered me. "There're only two beds…" Pein didn't even look at me. Instead, he began playing around with the coffee machine.

"What about it?" He asked and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zetsu move over to the balcony and swing open the doors quite violently.

"Um… there're three of _us_," I explained. He didn't respond. Instead, he walked over to one of the two beds, sat down on it, and declared,

"This one's mine." And then, it all came out. Some strange, pent up rage inside of me just burst forth and went over the top.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? I thought that you and Konan were supposed to be in _love _with each other and all lovey-dovey but you're being all… douche baggy! And seriously, when was the last time that a man _didn't _hold a door open for a woman? That's just plain rude!" And then came Pein's rant…

"I should be asking you the same thing! Since when were _you _in love with _Itachi_? I thought that _we_ were… together! If I had known that you had feelings for that Uchiha…"

"Feelings? Together? I'm talking about courtesy! Not… _relationships_! You're the leader and you're supposed to care for your subordinates!"

"This is the Akatsuki. We don't know the meaning of the word _care._"

"Well, you should! And I am sickened by the fact that you… you…!" I never got to finish my sentence because Pein pointed at the door and we saw the rest of the Akatsuki standing, wide eyed, at the door.

"Ooh… Couple fight…" Kisame muttered and I watched as the others smirked at the comment.

"How long… When did you guys get there…?" I asked, slowly turning around.

"Since around Itachi…" I heard Hidan say and at this, Itach said,

"Hn," In his defense.

"Whatever," I stated, marching off and heading out the door, the other members parting and making a way for me to pass through, and leaving them in an awkward silence.

I take back what I said earlier, you know, about "If this is what it was like to be in the Akatsuki, I think I'd want to live with these guys forever!" Scratch that. If this is what is was like to be in the Akatsuki, I want home. Now.

I don't know how, but I ended up at the beach behind our resort. It was afternoon and the blazing sun was sinking into the clear blue sea. I had found a beach chair and I brought it up to the water so that when the wave came in, the water washed gently over my feet. I'm not sure how long I sat there but I sat there for quite some time, gazing at the sun and reflecting upon what had happened earlier. I mean, he deserved it… right?

When the sun disappeared, I moved the chair back to its original spot and headed back to the suite, not knowing what to expect. At the room door, I paused. _Dang it! _I had totally forgotten that I had left the room key inside the room. However, as I raised my fist to knock on the door, Zetsu's upper half melted through the door.

"Konan-"

"Please open the door, Zetsu," I said, averting his gaze. My fingers found a loose thread around the waist area of my shirt and I began fumbling around with it. _Wait, why was I so nervous? I'm sure it won't be that bad…_

"You know you…" The white half of Zetsu began, "… really hurt him…" The black half finished. I felt my eyes brimming with tears.

"Just… _please _open the door…" Without another word, the Akatsuki spy melted back through the door and I heard a click and it opened. I assumed that Zetsu must've decided to stay back in the shadows because when I entered, I didn't see him. Instead, I saw a sleeping Pein on one of the beds. The door behind me closed and I turned around.

"Zetsu, I know you're there… You can sleep on the bed." His white half's voice came from the shadows,

"We can sleep in the walls. Do not mind us." Deciding not to complain, I silently took up Zetsu on his offer and headed to the other bed next to Pein's. However, before slipping into bed, I leaned over the sleeping Pein, laid my hand on his shoulder and whispered,

"I'm sorry."

**So yeah, kind of… you know a sad and heartfelt… ish… chapter. I was sad when writing it -_-**

**Well, I hope you liked it, nonetheless! **

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	24. Chapter 24: Tonton Jr

Tonton Jr. 

(Shizune's P.O.V)

Yeah, so I kind of admit to giving up the whole search for Inner and Hideaki… But that continuous and never ending curiosity would probably forever stay within my brain.

Me and Nathan had actually spent the rest of our week searching for them in the park; crazy, I know, and a total waste of time. However, during the time that we were searching, I formulated a new plan in attempt to return home. What if I went to another person's mirror and see if anything would happen? Genius, I know, thanks. However, even my genius plan had its flaws. How the heck was I supposed to get into somebody else's house without getting caught? The answer came to me plain and simple the week after me and Nathan had stopped searching in the park.

"A… mirror? You're mirror's scratched up…? How'd you do it?"

"Don't ask questions!" I snapped, "I mean, just, please, can I use your mirror? May I?"

"Well, this you asked so _nicely_," Nathan said, emphasizing the sarcasm in his voice.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, embracing him in a giant bear hug. Nathan, quite surprised, seemed to be taken aback but hugged me back anyways.

"Sure, anytime."

So, after that, we headed over to Nathan's house and when I peered into his mirror, to my horror, I saw absolutely nothing. And today, yet again, was another day wasted.

Back at Pauline's house, saying good bye to Nathan, I sat down on my bed, waist deep in despair and now totally unsure of what to do next. However, the fact that I could hear Alexander and his 'band' were practicing downstairs, did not help my mood. Then, after three hours of deep thinking, it came to me. I found Mrs. Jane downstairs and I asked her,

"Can I get a pet pig?" At first, she was surprised.

"A pet… what?"

"Um, a pet pig…" I repeated, losing the confidence that I had had. Mrs. Jane pondered this and scratched her head before saying,

"Alright." For some reason, this time, I was the one surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes, you can walk over to the pet store from here, can't you? See if they have a pig there that suits your taste." She handed me an a hundred dollar bill and I took it gratefully, dashing out of the house. As I ran to the pet store, my fingers automatically found Pauline's cell phone (I actually learned how to use the darn thing!) and I, out of pure habit, dialed Nathan's number. I brought the phone up to my ear, hearing his voice.

"What's up?" He asked me cheerfully.

"I'm going to the pet store to get a pet pig! Wanna come?"

"Sure," And without another word he hung up. After I had swung by Nathan's house, we quickly jogged over to the pet store. Along the way, he questioned me.

"What made you want to get a pet pig?"

"I dunno," I replied, shrugging. "Why, is it a bad thing that I want a pig?"

"No, I think it's pretty cool," Nathan said with a wide and toothy smile.

At the noisy but cute little shop, the man who greeted us was, I had noticed, short and quite the chatter box.

"Ah yes, we do actually have all different sorts and varieties of pigs! If you want the cute, baby white ones, the big, black and grumpy ones or-" I interrupted the man mid-speech,

"Do you have any small, light pinkish ones?" At this, the man nodded hastily.

"Oh yes, oh yes, we have plenty of those! Please do come!" He trotted towards the back of the store and showed us a metal barred crate crammed with squealing pigs, about the size of pillows. **(If that makes any sense… -_-) **

I squatted down so that I was at eye level with the crate at the bottom shelf. Most of the pigs didn't seem to notice my presence but one extra pink little piglet trotted up to the edge of the crate and squealed happily. I smiled.

"That one," I said, pointing to the adorable little pig at the front of the crate.

"My, my, you have good taste!" The store keeper said in a cheerful voice as he reached in and pulled the female piglet out of the crate. "This little beauty will be forty-two, ninety nine!" I gasped. If there was one thing that I had learned from the ninja world and this one is that money is pretty important.

"No way! That's a scream!" I stood up and glared the stubby man down. "I'll pay twenty."

"No can do, little miss," The keeper said, holding the resistant piglet. "I can lower if down to forty-one if you'd like." I kept on shaking my head.

"Twenty."

"Forty-one."

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Twenty."

"For-" Then, out of nowhere, Nathan yelled,

"Just take the damn pig for thirty!" The shop keeper's thin mustache curled slightly at Nathan's tone but grinned.

"Alright, sonny, you got yourself a deal." He offered a hand to Nathan.

"Um, no thanks," The teen said politely, showing no further signs of anger, "Can we just please buy the pig?"

"Sure can!"

When we walked out of the store, I had not expected to be so mad.

"Why wouldn't he take my price… but he took yours so willingly?"I fumed, squeezing the pig ever so slightly. At this, Nathan shrugged.

"Dunno, but I didn't want to risk it too low…"

"No, you did fine…" I said quietly, my anger fading away. "Anyways, what should we name her?" I held the piglet by the middle and held her out in front of us.

"You bought her, you can name her." It only took me five seconds.

"Tonton Jr.."

"Then that settles it," Nathan said, nodding his approval and petting the newly appointed Tonton Jr. on the head, "Welcome to the family."

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	25. Chapter 25: A Chapter of Entries

A Chapter of Entries 

(Konan's P.O.V)

_June 14__th_

_Exactly one more week until school ends and I am totally swamped with homework and finals. It sucks. Utterly. But not to worry because I have totally been studying and not… writing in this journal like a nerd… _

_Well anyways, it's alright to be a nerd. I keep on telling myself that, knowing that it's true!_

_Something interesting actually happened today… But I'm not sure if it's okay to write it down… alright. I will. _

_So there's this boy that I've been eyeing at school… I've never actually talked to him but I know his name… Axel. _

_Pauline doesn't know and neither do any of my other school friends but I think that it's best if I kept this to myself for now… I mean, I've just been looking at this red-haired cutie differently… that's all._

_June 15__th_

_Yes! I have succeeded in placing first in every class like the nerd I am! (Without the glasses of course) Boy were Pauline and Katie jealous! That means sundaes on the house tonight! Yum!_

_About that boy, Axel, I still have been eyeing him… not like the creeper way! Just in a… different way, you know? I have gym with him… He's athletic, I'll give him that… I also have math with him and I was almost beat with him at first but I barely made it… In honest truth, I've never talked to him or ever thought about talking to him even once. Perhaps I might work up the courage to do so soon… Maybe… Maybe not…_

_June 17__th_

_Sorry I skipped yesterday! I had a lot of work… Even though we already got our grades back and everything… BLASTEMY! I've always wanted to do that… _

_Yeah, so not much happened yesterday…The usual, you know… Sorry I don't have much to say, despite the fact that I should make up for not writing yesterday… whatevs!_

_June 18__th_

_Saturday at last! I am totally going to party. Where? At someone's house… Who knows! Well, I'll write when I get back!_

…

_Woo! What a blast! Yeah, I know what you're thinking, drugs, alcohol, pills, that kind of stuff but it wasn't! It was all loud, booming music, flashing and blinding strobe lights, and wacky costumes. I wore a salt costume and Pauline wore pepper and Katie wore… Ketchup! Don't ask. _

_All in all, it was totally awesome! Except… I saw Axel there too! He was dressed up as Axel from Kingdom Hearts… weird… _

_ANYWAYS, Pauline saw me gazing in his direction and had promptly asked,_

"_What're you looking at him for? You guys got something going on?" In which I had jumped back in response and yelled above the music,_

"_No! I don't know what you're talking about!"And then I had stomped away to join my other familiars at the snack table. That had been a close one. A very close one._

_June 19__th_

_Church in the morning, as usual._

_Lunch after, as usual._

_Went home, as usual._

_Saw Axel on the way home, unusual._

_So, in the car ride home, I had spotted Axel, through the open shot gun window, walking along the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the flow of cars. Weird…_

_June 20__th_

_Second to last day of school… Yearbooks handed out and yearbooks signed, you know, typical stuff. _

_I have to say, though… I really did want to talk to Axel before school got out because I wasn't sure if he lived nearby or not or if I would ever see him again… _

_Is this love?_

_NO!_

_ It couldn't be! Curse myself for thinking such a thing…  
><em>

_June 21__st_

_So it's official. Today is… WAS the last day of school and the first day of summer. In school, though, it was all sappy and sad with hugs and goodbyes…Cameras taking final pictures… I admit it, I cried. A little._

_However, what really made me cry on the inside was the fact that today was very likely the last time that I would ever see Axel's handsome face. Wait, did I just say handsome? I guess I did… _

_I might or might not write in this journal anymore… It depends…_

_Pauline's over right now and we're just hanging out in my room. She'll be sleeping over. A toast to a good and fun summer! In this journal now… I write that I hope for the best and maybe, just maybe, might I see Axel's face once again…_

I closed the journal and blinked. Was I supposed to read what I just did? But now I know much more about the girl whose body I'm in than I did before. Now the question remained for me, what next?

**So yup! That's it! I hope that you liked the journal entries of Kimberly Amber… read by Konan!**

**Please review, they are greatly appreciated!**

**I actually have no idea what I'm going to do next time for Konan… great…**

**Well, thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26: Sake, Shizune, and Daisuke

Sake, Shizune, and Daisuke

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

I remembered clearly what had happened this morning while I found myself in a bar, drunk, with two cute random guys I didn't really know next to me and across from me, Tsunade in the same situation.

"Don't worry!" Tsunade had said as we strolled through the streets of Konoha in the evening, "I know this great bar! I go there quite often! It's splendid!"

"Splendid…?" I muttered to myself, trailing miserably behind a confident hokage.

"Now, let's see, let's see… ah! Here it is!" The blonde sidestepped quickly and headed towards a small bar crammed between two other towering shops, the stench of alcohol wafting from it; a stench that made me wrinkle my nose.

Once we were inside, the bar tender called out to Tsunade,

"Hey, Miss Tsunade! Back for some more?" He chuckled and I watched as she returned the laugh.

"You know it! Table for two-!" She was cut off as Tonton leaped into her arms, "Wait! Make that three!" A waiter was soon at her side and he led us to a booth. Once seated and after placing our orders, I had looked around nervously, feeling the walls closing in on me like a jail.

"Um… are we the only ones here…?" The empty booths were starting to make me quite wary but Tsunade just laughed a hardy laugh. I think that she was drunk even before the sake came…

After her laughing fit, she sputtered out, "Shizune! I thought you'd been out more than that-!" She hesitated then smiled again and in a softer tone she whispered, "Oh, my bad Kim… Mind telling me your age?"

"I'm underage, Miss Tsunade…"

"No matter!" She declared as our orders were brought and set before us, "Thanks, you're a good chap!" She beamed at the waiter who looked extremely nervous about serving his hokage. I gave him a reassuring smile before he left. Inspecting one of the bottles from a safe distance, I asked,

"Do I… really have to drink this stuff?" As if to answer my question, Tsunade trotted over, sat down next to me and with a newly opened bottle of alcohol, thrust the top of the bottle to my mouth and let the putrid smelling liquid drain into my mouth and down my throat. After the bottle had been emptied, Tsunade, with a satisfied grin, returned to her seat across from me, tossing the now empty bottle aside.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked sweetly as I coughed and sputtered, gasping for air.

"That was…" But I never got to finish my sentence because at that moment, a group of buff Konoha shinobi entered the bar and spotted Tsunade and I. The leader of the group hooted and they came over to our booth. With me still choking, they introduced themselves. The leader's name was Akio and his three fellow group members were Daisuke, Hideko, and Mamoru, with me being fine dating any one of them.

"Do you mind if we join you two ladies?" Akio asked politely. Tsunade nodded, answering for us.

"Of course!" She boomed, "The more the merrier! Eh? Shizune?" I attempted to smile while the male shinobi settled down, two on each side with me and Tsunade sandwiched between two men. The one named Daisuke tried to help me in my suffering by clapping me roughly on the back, causing me to cough more while the other three were helping themselves to the sake on the table. Once recovered from my choking, however, we all dove into deep conversations and of course, alcohol, having a grand old time.

Long past midnight, we were all totally drunk and with a wave of the store owner, we hobbled out onto the empty streets, apparently saying good bye until one of the shinobi, the black haired one named Daisuke who had helped me before, pulled me aside from the chattering group and whispered into my ear,

"Would you like to… hick! Have dinner with me tomorrow… hick! At a restaurant nearby? Hick! I heard it was really good." With my head spinning, I'm pretty sure that I nodded because Daisuke smiled and we returned to the drunk group.

Now Tsunade and I were back at the Hokage's Office, slumped over the office desk, quite enjoying our hangovers.

"Shizune…" I heard Tsunade muttered, barely above a whisper, "Get to… work…"

"Why don't… you…?"

"I'm the hokage!" She whispered as loud as a whisper could go.

"Soooooooo…?"

"I say get to work… now…"

"Whatever… Did you know that Daisuke asked me to dinner last night?"

"Sure… That's nice…" And with that Tsunade closed her eyes.

"Don't die, Miss Tsunade…" I was reassured by her gentle breathing and movement of her back, following her breathing, up and down, up and down. Gingerly lifting my head, I hobbled over and gazed into the mirror on the wall. We had been lying down on the desk, doing absolutely nothing, and now I had pen marks and words all over my cheek. How was I to get this off before my date?

Sighing, I returned to Tsunade's desk and fell into a deep, deep sleep, with Tonton squealing in the distance.

I woke up around nine to see Tsunade hard at work. Wait… hard at work? This wasn't right!

"Miss Tsunade!" I gasped, now fully recovered from my hangover. Apparently, the hokage had too and was now pretty stressed out.

"Do you know how much work that we didn't finish while in the state of our hangovers?"

"No…"

"A lot!" And she resumed scribbling rapidly onto the paper before her. After a minute, I decided to ask her,

"Um, Miss Tsunade?"

"What is it?" She replied grumpily, her eyes glued to her work.

"I have a date tonight soo…" Now her eyes were glued on me.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?" She roared, probably permanently damaging my ear drums. In a meek voice, I mumbled,

"I did… Miss Tsunade… When you, I mean we, were in the midst of our… hangovers…" Slowly, the blonde hokage settled down and sighed out of frustration.

"Fine," She said promptly, returning, once again, to her paper work. I felt bad. I honestly did, but I didn't want to pass this out on my first date… In someone else's body…

I found myself in Shizune's room, trying on different outfits until I finally settled for a dark, navy blue dress with a matching sash. My hair was done up nicely and once I was done with that, Tonton rushed into my room with Daisuke right behind her. She oinked happily at my heels as I stood there in awe at my date. The black haired Daisuke was in a crisp and clean black tux with a red rose pinned to the right on his chest. I didn't know that shinobi in the ninja world could dress this well! However, to my relief, he looked about as stunned as I did.

"You look…" But he stopped himself, embarrassed. "Um, sorry… I was…"

"No, it's okay. So… where's the restaurant that you wanted to show me?"

**Yes. Yet another date :P So the only one who didn't get to go on one was Konan… the real real Konan, I guess :P**

**Well, thank you sooo much for reading!**

**I'll be out of town starting… today so I might or might not be able to update as often… Sorry about that…**

**But please review, nonetheless!**

**Muchas gracias, amigos! :)**


	27. Chapter 27: Mended Hearts & Broken Glass

Mended Hearts & Broken Glass

(Pauline's P.O.V)

I have to say… out of all the mornings that I've ever woken up to, this morning was the most awkward.

So when I first opened my eyes and stepped back into the horrors of reality, in Konan's body, I found Pein awake. I could tell from the water dripped off of the naturally divided sections of his damp orange hair that he had just finished up a shower. For a second, I considered asking him how taking a shower with serious piercings felt but pushed the thought away. Pulling the covers away and stepping onto the icy floor, I dared to speak.

"Good morning…" To which he replied,

"Good morning… Konan…" Still attempting to make a conversation, I said inwardly,

"Hope you had a, er, good shower…"

"Yeah," He replied, shaking out his hair, sending droplets of water flying. It was then that I noticed; he only had a towel on, wrapped around his lower torso and below.

If that wasn't awkward enough for you, Zetsu decided at that moment, to intrude through the door. With half of him in the door, the split-personality, venomous flytrap's white side declared, "The rest of the Akatsuki are downstairs…" His black half finished for him with a snicker, "Haha, _eating_ breakfast." On completing that sentence, he chose to leave me and the leader to our own devices.

I stood up and headed for the bathroom, shuffling my feet nervously as I went, fumbling with the sides of my night gown. (If you would dare to call it that.) However, Pein stopped me. I felt his strong grip on my shoulder and I paused, holding my breath. What would he say? Was he still mad? But my questions were answered by only two words, "I'm sorry." There was no hesitation in his voice. No doubt. No nothing. He was serious and I could tell. Then, without thinking, I subconsciously let myself leap into his open arms and once again, the tears came.

"I'm the one that should be sorry!" I sputtered between sobs. He closed his ringed eyes and leaned his head against mine, his hands stroking my back.

"No… really, it's me. I should have been more courteous. Besides… you are… my closest friend." Alright, I admit it. I kept crying… and crying… and crying… until I finally ran out of tears. Puffy and red eyed, I looked up at Pein only to see him smile affectionately back down at me.

"So…" I sniffed, "Can we now officially call it a truce?" Sensing the light humor in that statement, Pein chuckled.

"Sure, whatever you want," Releasing me and stepping back, the orange haired shinobi smiled, "But let me get changed first and then we can go and get some breakfast… How's about it?"

"That sounds delightful."

Breakfast was happier than I expected; for the Akatsuki at least… the other hotel folk just looked plain terrified. Laughing along with the rest of the group, we watched as Hidan had his scythe armed and ready to chop off the body parts of Tobi who was now currently dancing upon our breakfast table. Sounds of knocked and fallen glass and silverware filled the air, joining in with our somewhat cruel-sense-of-humor laughter.

"Tobi is so happy that Leader-sama and Konan-chan made up!" The childish Uchiha cheered, clapping his hands together, following the beat of his 'singing.'

"Shut up you bastard!" Everybody's favorite silver-haired Jashinist declared, swinging his scythe only to have Tobi dodge it with ease. Several more glass silverware items were sent flying to the floor, the wall, or a person, shattering on contact.

"I am, for once, in agreement!" Kakuzu proclaimed, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet, "Do you know how much this glass is going to cost? Those hotel people will kill us!"

"Did you just say-" Deidara began, on the brink of another bout of laughter. However, Kisame finished his statement for him,

"Kill us? I'd like to see them try!" He howled, flinging his head back in laughter. I held my hand to my mouth, joining in the fun and trying to suppress my amusement. Next to me, Pein and Itachi sat, still as stones, also trying to restrain their smiles as well.

"Idiots!" Deidara hissed, "How dare you insult my precious art!"

"How'd this go from Pein and I making up to dissing Deidara's art?" I asked inwardly. Kisame answered for me, his mouth stretched wide, revealing his impressive rows of teeth,

"Who knows!" And then, the manager of the resort burst forth, unfortunately not making as big of an entrance as he wanted too.

"What do you hooligans think that you're doing to my precious hotel?" I saw the redness in his face as his outrage was completely ignored by the Akatsuki and I almost felt bad for him. Almost. Until a china dish went flying in his direction. Sending out one of his black tentacles, Kakuzu stopped the glassware in midair and set it gently in the manager's hands.

"We apologize!" He called above the ongoing madness, "Please forgive these _hooligans_! They're just a bunch of five-year-olds and don't know how to behave! Don't make us pay a bill!"

"What'd you say, you bitch?" Hidan roared, sending his scythe in the direction of his panicking partner.

"Gah! Hidan!" Kakuzu gasped, stopping the weapon inches from his masked face, "You're going to destroy the rest of this hotel! Who's going to have to pay for this? Me!" And with that the red painted weaponry of destruction was sent flying and crashing through the wall-sized glass windows that covered the walls, presenting an excellent view of the beach. However, it was shattered, instantly. Raining down on the other poor people were itty bitty shards of glass and I'm sure that they were all cursing. Including that dreaded hotel manager.

"GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOTEL!" He screamed, veins popping up on his neck and forehead.

"Like I wanted to be here in this shitty hotel in the first place!" Hidan spat back, his scythe brought back by a thick cord of Hidan's. Leader stood up and walked past the manager before calling back to us,

"Our vacation is over! We're returning home. Now." So, that was the abrupt ending of our vacation that was very short lived and I was totally looking forward of returning back to the hideout…

**Um yeah… So I hoped that you liked it! Some of the usual Akatsuki madness and a Pein and Konan scene as well!**

**I've got nothing else to say but thanks and review!**


	28. Chapter 28: Shizune and The Picnic

Shizune and The Picnic 

(Shizune's P.O.V)

"A… picnic?"

"Yeah! You've never heard of one…?"

"Um… I mean, of course I've heard of one! But, uh, what is it… exactly?"

I heard, through the phone, the sound of Nathan heaving a sigh.

"A picnic is, well, you basically pack your lunch and eat out someplace… like, a meadow or open field or something… you get the gist of it, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded and smiled, "So is it just going to be the two of us?" Tonton Jr. squealed happily and leaped onto my lap and I chuckled lightly, "And Tonton Jr. as well!"

"Of course, unless…" He paused, possibly considering what to say next, "Your mom or your brother wants to come…" I waved a hand absentmindedly,

"Naw, I'm sure they wouldn't want to or dream of coming. So, how are we going to get there?" In my mind I was thinking of using a jutsu or something to teleport there but then, remembering that I was no longer in the ninja world, banished the thought from my mind but it was too late to take the question back.

"Um…." Nathan began uncertainly and I was almost sure that he was scratching his head in confusion, "We're gonna drive…"

"How's about we walk?"

"It's like… twenty miles from here!"

"Walking is good exercise, unless, you want to run…?"

"Are you kidding me?"

I sighed, "Alright, so what's the time?"

"Hm… well, it's like, 11 something right now so how's about 12:30 PM?"

"Sounds good!"

"I'll bring a picnic basket with the food-"

"Are you sure you don't want me to bring my own lunch…?"

"It's on me today."

"Are you really sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alrighty then…" I was uncertain of what to say and now it was getting a bit awkward until,

"Love 'ya." I was petrified with shock. Did Nathan just say 'Love 'ya'? So… that means he loves her! He loves Pauline! Um… what was I supposed to say next?'

"'Kay… bye!"

"Bye…" He sounded a bit disappointed… probably waiting for me to say 'I love you' back or something… but I couldn't do that. I'm an unmarried woman in another person's body! I didn't want to confess my 'fake' love for an almost complete stranger! Snapping Pauline's phone shut, I stood up from my bed and headed downstairs. As usual, I found Mrs. Jane washing the dishes.

"Mrs. Jane, I'm going out on a picnic with Nathan at 12:30, 'kay?"

"That's fine, just be careful," She said, flashing a smile in my direction, "And don't let anything… _bad _happen." She finished in a suggestive tone that made me wonder just what the heck she was hinting at.

12:30 rolled around pretty quickly, as did the car ride to the picnic site and I sound found myself standing on a field of rolling hills of grass. Tonton Jr. leaped out of my arms and began frolicking through the tall grasses that grew up to my knees. As Nathan and I set up the picnic, spreading out the blanket and hankering it down, I watched out of the corner of my eye in amusement as the adorable piglet sniffed and chewed wild flowers that dotted and colored the sea of grass. Once everything was set up, we ate our lunch and Nathan and I took turns tossing bits of pig food to Tonton Jr. every once in awhile while we, as well, tossed foods into each other's mouths.

"I caught it!" I declared, sticking the grape between my teeth and smiling. Nathan threw his head back and laughed along,

"After your twentieth try! I got it on my first!"

"Hey, you cheated! You jinxed those grapes or something!" I joked, tossing him another grape and watching it land squarely on his extended tongue, "Or maybe I'm just that great a grape tosser!" He ate the grape and his face turned serious making my laughing cease.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"I have to ask you something…" A bad feeling was stirring up inside of me. This wasn't going to be good…

"Sure, go ahead…" I said with unquestionable uncertainty.

"I love you, Pauline… Do you… love me back?" The same shocking feeling fell upon my body like a curse and in my head a voice screamed, _I knew it! I knew he was going to say that!_

I told the voice to shut up before returning to reality. What was I going to say? Well, I was surely not going to say that I loved him back… was I?

"Um, don't you think this is a bit… sudden?" He shook his head.

"No, I know my feelings and they're for you… Please, can I have your answer?" I shifted uncomfortably on the picnic blanket, willing to be somewhere else and out of this position.

"Well… um…" Should I just tell him that I'm someone else? "You see…" And that was when it happened; a streak of silver dashed before my eyes followed by a brown lump and yet another streak only this one pink. Wait, pink? My head whipped around and I saw what Nathan and I had been searching for during that last, whole week. It was Inner, Hideaki, and Tonton Jr., all running in a straight line and without thinking, I chased after them, not noticing the disappointed face of Nathan's.

**Yeah… so that's it! I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**Please review! I'm begging you!**

**I need them, they are my life**

**In war… and in strife!**

**(what the heck?)**

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	29. Chapter 29: The Autumn Festival

The Autumn Festival

(Konan's P.O.V)

After reading the journal of Kimberly Amber, I was speechless at first. Then, I began to piece things together.

So, I was in this average teen's body, living her summer for her, and soon going out with her school crush without even knowing it! And the actual girl doesn't even know any of it. Wow. I am now starting to wonder how she would respond if she found out…

The next morning, I met Axe at the playground but he came bringing a flyer of some sort and upon further inspection, I saw some words that I was unfamiliar with: festival, Ferris wheel, cotton candy, drive-in movies, etc…

"There's going to be the annual Autumn Festival today, starting around noon and I was hoping that you would be able to… come with me?" Then, seeing the look on my face, he added frantically, "Don't worry! It's a lot of fun! Wait… have you never been to one before?" I decided my answer carefully before deciding,

"Yes, but I went to one… a long time ago, I can't really remember." He nodded in understanding,

"Ah, well, if you come with me it'll refresh your memory! I'm sure that if you remember anything it's that festivals are a TON of fun! Like, for real! Please say yes!" There was a playful smile on his face, "Princess!"

"Princess?" I sounded perfectly aghast but that just made Axe laugh harder and soon I had joined him. Once our jokes died down, we took a breather,

"Well," I began, my grip loosening on my aching stomach from the laughter, "I'll just have to ask my mother before…"

"That's… fine, just um, call me," He made the hand motion of a phone next to his ear, "You got a cell?" Because I cocked my head to the side, he explained, "A _cell phone, _you know, like a portable telephone?"

"I think that I might have one…"

"Well, here's my number," He pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbling numbers onto it before handing it to me, "Just call me and tell me your answer when you've got it. But I gotta run now so I'll hopefully see you at the festival at noon!" And with a wave, he was gone.

"I honestly don't care," Was all that Mrs. Amber had said when I asked for permission to the fair. Rage filled my chest,

"What? Is it because you know that I'm not your daughter and now you don't care for me? I'll have you know that I am in her _body _and if or when she comes back-"

"That is enough young lady! Or woman, or whatever you are!" From her tone, I knew that she wasn't too happy with the situation either. "I don't want a scratch on my _daughter's _body when you get back from that festival, do you understand?" Even through the hatred implanted in her voice, I could sense just a hint of understanding and playfulness in her voice.

"I understand!" I saluted, something that I had learned in this world before rushing to the phone to call Axe and tell him the good news.

When noon rolled around, I had simply worn a light ginger sundress with matching sandals and a broad, threaded hat and was waiting for Axe to ring the bell. Once I heard it, I pounced on the door knob and opened it to find my 'date' in plain jeans, a polo, and converse. Put on backwards, he had a 'cookie monster' hat on his head.

"You ready?" He asked, cheerfully. I great fully took his offered hand and together, we raced to the mile-away festival.

The Autumn Festival was nothing short of my expectations but everything above it. To be quite frank, it reminded me of the celebrations that my old village used to throw… the ones that I wasn't able to attend once I had made my personal commitment to the Akatsuki.

Chatter and laughter filled the air and kernel corn and apple cores littered the ground as Axe and I huffed and pulled to a stop at the entrance. In the near distance was a looming Ferris wheel turning ever so slowly, carrying passengers in its painted carts. Leading the pathway to the metal circle of entertainment were food stores, souvenir stores, and of course, game shacks. Like two young children, Axe and I took deep breaths, stole excited glances from one another before plunging into the festival before us.

It was only at evening when Axe was wondering if I wanted to take a ride on the Ferris wheel and, being as I had never been on one before, I happily accepted. After playing many, and I mean many, games, Axe had actually managed to win one of them! The man was giving away stuffed animals as prizes and Axe told me to choose one; I picked the giant, black and white panda that was hugging a heart. So, with the panda under my right arm and cotton candy in my right hand and Axe's hand in my left, we hurried to the dwindling line before the Ferris wheel. My heart was beating fast at the thought of what it would be like to sit in a cart hundreds of feet above the ground with it turning at a snail's pace. I could only picture the view in my head. Before I knew it, lost in my thoughts, we were up. The man directing the line winked at Axe, opening the door to the next available metal cart. Giving a slight lurch, we were moving and soon high above the many heads of the other festival goers.

"This is so exciting!" I breathed, leaning over the edge of the cart and taking in the view.

"Isn't it?" He said, leaning against the other end of the red cart that we shared. Minutes ticked by and I didn't move from my position. Back at home, we jumped in high trees constantly but we never got to take mountain-high views like these! Okay, well, maybe mountain-high might be too much but…

"Oh my!" We had reached the very top and the Ferris wheel came to a slow stop. "Why did we stop?" I was starting to panic.

"Don't worry," Axe said, coming to my side, making the cart wobble. "I'm sure that it's just some other people getting on the ride."

"Oh…" I muttered breathlessly, sitting back down, holding the panda in my lap. "I… I'm not too fond of heights, I just realized…"

"It's alright… I'll make sure that nothing happens to you," And after a brief moment of hesitation, he draped his arm around me and pulled me close. So there we sat with me cuddled up against Axe and him leaning his head on mine until the cart began its descent. Once we were back on the ground, I was almost disappointed that he hadn't kissed me- Wait! What am I talking about?

"That was so much fun!" I squealed as we exited the festival and walked through the half-full parking lot.

"Wasn't it? See! What'd I tell you?"

Back at Kimberly's home, after me and Axe had said our goodbyes, I hurried up to Kimberly's room and sat down at the desk. Pulling out her journal, I flipped to the next clean page, grabbed a pencil, and began writing:

_August 15__th_

_ So today was the start of the Autumn Festival…_

**Yes! Konan is writing in Kimberly's journal! :P**

**I wasn't too sure about the date… but oh well, what's done is done**

**Thanks again for reading, I hoped you enjoyed!  
>Please, please do review and I'll see you next time! :)<strong>


	30. Chapter 30: The Cave and the Demon Tribe

The Cave and the Demon Tribe

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

Of course I would be expecting some nice restaurant in the ninja world… Not another place that served sake!

"What is this-"

"The food and alcohol is really good! I thought that, since that night, you were quite the drinker so…"

"I am not a drinker I'm-" I had just been about to spill the beans, saying that I'm not old enough but I caught myself, "… Uh, I'm not in the mood." I finished hastily. Daisuke looked at me a bit confused but sighed.

"Well, we can take it easy on the sake then…" His voice screamed displeasure and I felt bad, honestly. So, since I can't take disappointing people, I had ended up drinking myself sick just like on the night that we had met.

On his sixth bottle, Daisuke belched and laughed heartily, "Haha! I knew that you were that type of person!"

The rest of the night went uneventful… ish…

"Have you ever heard of…" The raven-haired shinobi paused, checking around to see if anyone was there. We had left the restaurant, my date paying the bill, (Thankfully!) but he had pulled me aside to tell me a 'secret'.

"Heard of what?" I asked, my words, and his, slurred.

"Heard of… the… The Cave?"

"The Cave?" I asked, quite puzzled. Whoever came up with such a stupid name?

"SHH!" Daisuke helped a finger to his lips and held his other hand to my mouth, "Don't say it aloud! It's a secret!" I rolled my eyes subconsciously.

"Are you sure you aren't crazy in the head from the alcohol?" I wondered aloud, flicking him on the forehead. He jump backed back, startled, and rubbed the now red spot on his forehead.

"No! I'm sure! It's… real! And…" He leaned in close once more, "I've heard that it has an immeasurable amount of treasure hidden inside! Hoards of diamonds, troves of emeralds, more gold than ever-"

"Okay, okay, you win!" I declared, flicking him in the forehead… again. "Now where is… this _cave _anyways?" When I mentioned the word cave, Daisuke winced as if just hearing the word was wrong…

"It's… right outside the borders of Konoha. Only shinobi from the Leaf Village know of it and since it is right outside of our borders, no one has dared to search for it. On the other hand, the shinobi from other lands don't know of this place so they have no idea what great treasures lie in their grasp… Which is good for us," He smiled.

"So… do we head out there now?"

"Of course not!" The expression on his face was clear shock. He held his head in his hands, "My… head is starting to hurt… must've been…. The sake…"

…And out date ended like that. I ended up having to help take Daisuke home before returning to the office where Tsunade had dozed off on top of her desk. Deciding that it was best not to wake her, I headed to Shizune's room and fell asleep as well, dreaming about the treasure that is supposedly hidden away in The Cave.

The next morning, I was woken up by a grumpy-looking Tsunade. Her hair was all over the place and her breath smelled like-

"You have a visitor…" She grumbled, gesturing towards the door before collapsing onto my bed. My gaze floated to the door and I saw a Daisuke all geared up in his jounin outfit and a backpack of supplies that he lifted upon his shoulders.

"D-Daisuke!" I stammered, my hands desperately trying to flatten my ruffled hair. "W-What are you doing here so early in the m-morning?" Once again he put on that infamous shocked face of his.

"Don't you… remember? We have to travel to the outskirts of…" He trailed off, hoping that I would catch on, which I did. Realization crossed my face,

"Oh… just, um…" I glanced nervously at the unconscious hokage on my bed. Thankfully, Daisuke took the hint this time and saluted before leaving the room. In my haste, I got changed, forgetting to brush my teeth and my hair and once I had met up with Daisuke outside, I was utterly disgusted.

"Why did we have to leave so early in the morning?" I fumed, combing my fingers through my hair. When I reached a knot, I tugged furiously, biting my lips at the pain.

"… Because… the morning is the least dangerous time for searching for _it_…" His voice faded.

"Okay, I see…" I pouted, "Mr. I'm-the-morning-person-of-us-two! It's not my fault that I'm a night owl! Did you ever bother thinking about how-"

"Shh…" He whispered, completely interrupting and ignoring my rant which just made me all the more angry. One thing you should know about me is that I tend to be very, very grumpy when I wake up…

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? QUIT LEAVING ME HANGING AND ANSWER MY QUESTIONS, DAMMIT!" This surprised Daisuke no more than it had myself. His eyebrows shot up then his eyes quickly narrowed,

"You probably woke up all of Konoha now…" He grumbled, pulling my arm, "Now let's head out."

I didn't argue with his _suggestion _this time. Trailing right behind him, I followed the black-haired jounin as we leaped gracefully from rooftop to rooftop. Now I understand how it feels when the ninja of this world jump from tree, or rather, roof to roof.

As silent as mice and stealthy as ninjas could be, we exited the village without being spotted. Once we were out of earshot of any possible villagers being awake and traveling through the forest, I gasped,

"Damn! Was I supposed to bring anything? You brought a whole backpack of stuff!" My partner didn't respond for some time, probably considering the question… I hoped…

"No," He said simply and we continued the rest of our journey to The Cave in silence. To be honest, that whole time I was thinking about what I had said earlier… When I had shouted at him; was I too harsh? I mean, he _did _in fact, leave me with questions unanswered…

In a quick second, however, Daisuke dropped from the tree branch and disappeared into the darkness underneath.

"Where'd you go now?" I thought to myself, following him. I landed on the ground safely, despite the height of the tree and scanned the area; Daisuke was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose to my throat but I forced it down, swallowing. I took a deep breath to calm myself. In a whisper, I called out, "Daisuke? Are you there?" No answer. This was pretty weird… After a moment, I tried again, "Daisuke? Helloooo?" Then, it came from behind me; a kunai. Reaching into my pack I whipped out Shizune's kunai and deflected it, inches from my face.

"What's going on?" I breathed, immediately on the alert. The bushes around my rustled in an unsettling, hair-raising way and I couldn't tell which one actually had something inside it. Then, the bush directly behind me rustled and I sent the kunai at hand flying through it. In a poof of smoke, the bush was gone and replaced by a dark figure. Arming myself with several kunai, I stared long and hard at the figure.

"Who are you?" As if in response to my question, a dark laughter filled the forest.

"Who am I? Who am _I_?" More cackling laughter. The hair on my heck rose as I watched the figure step out into the weak moonlight. It was Akio, the leader of the group from the bar.

"It's you!" I hissed, glaring at him, hoping to stab hatred through his very skull but it wasn't working very well.

"It _is _me! In fact, it's _all of us_." As Akio finished his sentence, Hideko, Mamoru, and even Daisuke stepped out of their select bushes, smirking. The blond leader turned to the traitor, "Well done, Daisuke. You did well." I watched in horror as my 'date's' smirk widened as he sneered,

"It was nothing. This woman, no, this _bitch _was just too easy to fool. And you don't need to call my by that old name anymore, Akuma."

"Tch, whatever," Akio, or rather, Akuma, turned back and stared me down. "Do you know who we are?" I shook my head, holding my chin up.

"No, why would I?" Wow. Way to sound cool, Kim…

"We are… the Demon Tribe! S-ranked criminals…" The members joined in their leader's laughter as I rolled my eyes.

"Um, so?" I tried my best to act bored and not scared but somehow, Akuma sensed this.

"Do you know what my name means?" He asked, mockingly. Then, after a second, he continued, "I'll take your silence as a 'no.' Well, it means…" Okay, so the next scene is pretty… gross… so I'll do the best I can to describe it. First were Akuma's legs; they shot up at least 15 feet, as did his arms and the rest of his body. They were soon coated with a thick layer of dish-sized scales, dyed blood red. Out of his now wiry black hair sprouted two pointed horns and his face… his face… Was a mix of a skull and human, pretty nasty.

"DEMON!" Akuma roared, rattling several trees around us. This was surprising why? Because these trees are extremely old and have very thick trunks so… yeah, you get my point. Without blinking, I saw the other three 'men' transform into demons, not as big as their leader, but still pretty, freaking big.

"Finally! We can-" Without letting Akuma finish his sentence, I flipped backwards and landed squarely onto a tree branch and flexed my wrist. Then, in a flash of movement, I performed Shizune's signature Poison Mist Jutsu and dark purple smoke poured out of my mouth; this was clearly on instinct, by the way… I had no control over this.

"You think… that _this _can stop us?" The demon leader roared, swiping his giant forearm in front of him, sending my poison mist into the sky above.

"Crap…" I hissed, leaping into the trees leading back to Konoha.

"Don't think you're getting away from us that easily!" Akuma roared behind me, "Konoha is miles away! You'll never make it!" More evil laughter. But I didn't care. Why did they even want me? Why'd… Daisuke take the trouble of dragging me out all this way? What were they planning? I never hand another thought because the tree branch that I had just landed on snapped and I was send spiraling towards the ground.

**Okey dokes, thanks for reading!**

**Holy cow! That was probably the longest chapter :)**

**But to ****SakuraDreamerz****, I actually didn't mean to do the date on Kakuzu's birthday but okay!**

**So look forward to the next chapter!**

**Next time: Kakuzu's Birthday Bash! :)**


	31. Chapter 31: Kakuzu's Birthday Bash

Kakuzu's Birthday Bash

(Pauline's P.O.V)

Kakuzu never ended up receiving a bill for the glass that we had broken at the hotel for two reasons. 1. That manager didn't exactly know the address of where to send the bill to and 2. Someone might have, more or less killed him… But that only worked better in my favor.

"His… birthday?"

"Yes."

"He's not going to be happy…"

"Why not?"

"Birthday's do cost some money…"

"So? It's an important day! We need to celebrate!"

Pein rubbed his temples in frustration, avoiding my excited and hopeful face. He was the first one that I had mentioned the idea of throwing a surprise birthday party for the ever so dear, Kakuzu. How had I come across this valuable information? Let's just say that I have my sources.

"Pleeease?" I kept pleading. He let out a groan before finally agreeing,

"Fine. But I'm not going to be the one in charge of this…"

"Don't worry!" I saluted, "I will take full command of this operation, Sergeant Pein!" I dashed out of the room, ignoring the orange hair's confused look.

"Sergeant?"

"Kakuzu! Shopping! Now!" I shook the shoulder of a pissed looking Kakuzu as his tower of coins toppled over.

"Would you quit it Konan?" He whipped around to face me.

"Can you go shopping for groceries?"

"Why the hell would I do that? We have a good enough stock."

"Um…" I frantically searched around, my eyes falling upon Zetsu who was sprawled out on the couch, chewing something I didn't want to know, "Zetsu needs… peaches!"

"Peaches?" The special birthday boy sounded absolutely disgusted by the idea.

"Yes! Hurry! He _needs _his peaches! Now! Hurry!" After more shaking and convincing, I finally got Kakuzu to go shopping, "And don't forget, er, pears for Tobi as well!" I hoped that he had heard me because I wasn't going to waste one second when he was gone.

Thankfully all the Akatsuki members, excluding Pein and the birthday boy, were already assembled in the living room.

"Listen up everybody! Kakuzu will be gone for approximately an hour and a half, including stalling from… Zetsu!" I just had to pick on him again. He's so… pick-on-able…?

"Why us?" The black half grumbled unhappily.

"One half of you should stay here while the other should go and follow Kakuzu to make sure that he doesn't come back before we're ready!"

"What's the occasion?" Kisame asked, apparently waking up from a nap. I rolled my eyes before flapping my arms in frustration,

"We're you the one who told me? It's Kakuzu's birthday! Now, go Zetsu! Please hurry!" I heard him groan in complaint but he followed my order and he split in two, the white half disappearing through the floor. "Okay, Itachi and Hidan, you two are in charge of decorations! Kisame and Deidara, cook the cake! Tobi and I will go shopping for gifts, avoiding Kakuzu, of course!" Hidan, also waking up from a nap, yawned.

"What the hell? Why so early in the morning?"

"Just get going, please! We have to hurry!" Thankfully, Deidara came to my rescue and headed to the kitchen calling, "Kisame! Get your lazy ass in here and help me!" over his shoulder. Once those two were gone, Itachi set his book aside,

"Hn."

"Okay, okay, I have some decorations!" I pulled out the box that I had found earlier. My eyes landed on Tobi as I grabbed his wrist, "Let's go, Tobi! Time to go shopping!"

"Tobi doesn't think that Kakuzu would want anything from the store…"

"Well, Kakuzu will like whatever we get him… okay? I'm sure!"

"Tobi thinks that Kakuzu would rather get money for his birthday…"

"No, I think that he would like…" My eyes scanned the store that we were currently in, falling upon a magazine of swimsuit models, "This!" I declared, whipping the glossy magazine off the shelf.

"Tobi thinks that Kisame would like something like that…" Tobi suggested timidly, as if afraid of my response.

"Oh, you're right…" I set the magazine back on the shelf and continued down the aisle. "Kakuzu… Kakuzu… what would you like?" Then, hearing Tobi squeal, I quickly dashed over to where I saw him standing, his eye(s) open wide.

"What is it?"

"Looook!" He was pointing to some sort of giant, dollar bill stuffed toy.

"It's a… one hundred dollar bill… that isn't real…" I muttered, turning to Tobi. "But I think that we could get it for him…" Tobi cheered and grabbed the stuffed bill off the shelf and we continued our shopping because we couldn't just get him _one _gift, now could we?

Returning back to the hideout before Kakuzu, Tobi and I found ourselves in the living room covered in streamers, pictures of Kakuzu on the walls, and glitter strewn about everywhere.

"Whoa…" My mouth was open in amazement. _Itachi and Hidan did this?_

"Isn't this fucking great?" Hidan smirked, patting the nearest picture of his partner on the wall.

"How'd you get that?" I blurted out. He snickered evilly but never ended up answering my question. Tobi settled down to start wrapping the other gifts that we had bought while I headed over to the kitchen.

"It has to have fish!"

"No! When he blows out the candles it should blow up, un!"

"Fish!"

"Explosion!"

"Fish!"

"Explosion, un!"

"Fish-"

Even when I entered the room, Deidara and Kisame's argument continued and the kitchen was a complete mess. There was batter splattered against the walls, fish carcasses laying on the floor, and holes punctured into the cabinets with splintered wood crackling under my feet. On the island in the center of the kitchen was a lump of a cake… I think…

"Um, did you guys get the cake done?" I asked timidly, interrupting Deidara midsentence.

"No, because this bastard wouldn't let me put fish in the cake!" Hissed Kisame, holding up a silver sardine in his hand to prove his point.

"Kakuzu doesn't like fish, un!" Deidara declared, one of his hands in his clay pouches.

"And how would you know that?"

"I asked Hidan!"

"And what would Hidan know?"

"He told me-"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO!" The blonde bomber and shark man fell quiet and they both turned, narrowed eyes, to face me. "Can you guys quit arguing? We have a time limit! Just save your 'debate' for later!" I hurried to the refrigerator and opened the doors with such force that some of the contents fell out. Grabbing several items at once, I placed all the necessary cake ingredients onto the counter.

"Now I'll show you how to bake a _real c_ake!"

Thirty minutes later, it was done.

"Wow… you're a freak in the kitchen, Konan…" Kisame said inwardly, staring at the cake and I wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult but I'm pretty sure it was a compliment.

"Yeah… This is… amazing! Un!" Deidara stated, he took, staring at the frosted pastry. I had to admit myself, it was pretty amazing; before us sat a circular cake on the island, coated with white frosting and detailed patterns drawn into its sides. On top of the cake I had illustrated Kakuzu's name in neat cursive will dollar bill signs on sprinkles that decorated the top.

"Now, let's hurry, Zetsu said that Kakuzu'll be here in about five minutes." I gingerly took the cake into my hands and the three of us proceeded to the living room. Tobi had finished the wrapping of the gifts in the time that it took us to cook the cake so all was ready, now the only thing missing was Kakuzu.

"He's coming…" The black half of Zetsu said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Okay," I whispered, "turn off the lights and hide!" Everyone did what they were told and I was surprised as Pein huddled next to me behind the couch, "You came!" I said as quite as I dared. He simply nodded in response.

The seconds that stretched by didn't last too long because when the lights flickered on, everybody jumped out, "Happy Birthday Kakuzu!"

**Yes.**

**I hope that you guyses liked it! :)**

**Please do review and I will get back to you soon with the next chapter!**


	32. Chapter 32: Rose

Rose

(Shizune's P.O.V)

I remember chasing the trio of animals into the forest nearby only to lose sight of them almost as soon as I had spotted them.

"Great…" I muttered under my breath. It was then that I realized that I had totally ditched Nathan. Cursing, I turned around and began backtracking. However, I don't have the best sense of direction… So I ended up lost, still. Out of despair, I ended up wallowing in my own pool of self pity.

_How could I have been so stupid? I mean, it must've been a mirage… an illusion, perhaps…Seeing that familiar Does that mean that Tonton Jr. was a fake as well? But then what about Inner and Hideaki… when I saw and heard them at the playground…_I screamed and clutched my head, ideas swarming around inside. I'm desperate to find answers yet, like those three animals, they keep fleeing from me. What am I to do now?

The answer came to me like a slap on the face.

It was Tonton Jr. who appeared before me, oinking happily as if nothing had ever happened. I bent over and stroked her head, smiling slightly.

"Now tell me, why'd you run off like that?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

_I know Inner and Hideaki._

By now, however, nothing really surprised me anymore; between the switching bodies and talking animals, I didn't even blink.

"Then… does that mean that you are a ninja just like them?"

_Of course, but I couldn't tell you earlier because I had to confirm my suspicions. Now, seeing as though you, a fellow ninja, are communicating with me, I know that I was correct; you came from the other world here too… Didn't you?_

I move my head slowly, "Yes… and I'm assuming that you don't know a way back either…?"

_No, unfortunately. But before we were separated, that is what Inner and I were attempting to uncover; how we got to this world and how to return. Oh, and by the way, don't call me Tonton Jr. anymore… My name is Rose._

"Rose," I say thoughtfully, "…Maybe I could help you!" I almost jump with excitement; hope filling up within me and watch as she mulls this over in her head.

_I guess… but I'm not sure how much use you could be…_

In an attempt not to be offended, I cleared my throat, "Um, I'm pretty sure I'm not asuseless as you think… and you said that you and Inner were trying to find a way back to return… then what about Hideaki? What role does he play in this and why is he always chasing Inner?"

_Hideaki used to be our comrade in the ninja world, _Rose began, _but once we were transferred to these bodies, the moment we mentioned it, he gave up any hope in returning back to our original forms. Inner was extremely persistent, however, in wanting to get back home and he soon grew sick of it; he has quite the temper, I would know. Well, instead of sitting back and doing nothing, he resolved to foiling our efforts in finding our way home and that eventually lead to our splitting up and... well, l you know the rest, or can guess it, at least. _

There was nothing I had to say, lest, there was nothing I _could _say…

_And now I've gone and lost the both of them once again… _Sighing, she hung her head, her eyes trained onto the ground.

"… I can help you find them… I _was _searching for the both of those rascals anyways…" As if she had completely changed her personality, Rose brightened,

_You will? You'll really help me?_

"And besides," I said airily, "I'm trying to get my body back too!"

In some way or another, we had managed to pick and find our way back to the open fields were we were met by an unhappy Nathan,

"… can't just run off like that! You could've gotten lost or… or eaten… or even-"

"I won't do it again," I promised, silencing him, "You have my word." Calming him down a tad bit, Nathan sighed and turned around,

"Well, we should get going now. You two were gone for quite some time." Nodding my head, I helped in packing up the leftovers from lunch.

"Oh, and by the way Nathan, we'll be searching for that same feline and shaggy haired dog again that I told you about earlier!" The look on his face was priceless.

**Yeah, sorry that I've been gone for such a long time, for those of you who care -_-**

**But just the same as everyone else, school will be starting soon and I probably won't be able to update as much…**

**I'm not sure why but I just suddenly lost interest in fanfiction! It was really weird… But I've gotten over that bump in the road so it's all good :)**

**Hoped you enjoyed the chapter and review as always! (You good peoples out there)**


	33. Chapter 33: Back to School

Back to School

(Konan's P.O.V)

I learned a new word today, though I still don't fully understand the meaning of it: school.

Mrs. Amber, regaining her composure to talk to me, had informed me that I would have to attend this 'school.' Still quite confused after her inadequate explanation of the term, I met up with Axe later that day with, thankfully, him to help me out.

"School is basically a place where 'kids' like us learn stuff…" He shrugged, "You know, the usual."

"And what would be the usual?"

"History, biology, English, that kind of stuff," He said with a glimmer of wondering and confusion in his eye, "But you should know _that_ already… I'm sure!" An air of uncertainty gusted through the playground and leaves alighted from their branches.

"What are those… history, biology, and English?" I watched as Axe smacked his forehead out of frustration,

"Ugh! It's like you forgot everything you knew about life itself! Got amnesia or something? Okay, geez, just get up early, take the bus to _school, _go to each of your _classes, _and then hop on the bus home! It's as simple as that!"

"But-" I protested weakly.

"No buts! Classes start tomorrow!" And with a huff, he left.

Being unsure about the whole concept of school, I spent the majority of the night mulling it over in my head.

_I guess that I could think of this world's school like the academy that me and Pein used to attend… But then again, they didn't teach us any strange subjects like these…_

_ What were those schedule and class things that Axe and Mrs. Amber were talking about? Maybe I could ask that Pauline Jane girl… I think that she will go to the same… academy… _

I woke to the red face of Mrs. Amber.

"KIMBERLY LIN AMBER! I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN MINUTES! WAKE. UP... My goodness! It's about time, young lady! Now hurry up and get ready to go! You already missed the bus so I'll have to drive you! And on the first day too! Think of that…!" She stormed out of the room, her hair up and slippers on her feet and a nightgown still over her shoulders.

My head felt groggy, most likely from the yelling, and I couldn't see straight. Moments later, I regained full consciousness and attempted at 'getting ready to go'.

All in all, I was proud of myself. I had done up Kimberly's hair quite nicely in the usual bun that I love and matched this world's clothes in her closet as well. Downstairs, however, I was met by a nasty and snarling mother.

"HOW LONG DO YOU THINK YOU TOOK UP THERE? HM? SCHOOL STARTED TWENTY MINUTES AGO! NOW GET IN THE CAR!"

At school, I pulled out the schedule that I received earlier, the letters not making much sense to me. I stood there in the middle of an empty hallway, reading the sheet,

"Course Title: World History… Teacher name: Howen, J… Room: 106…" Scratching my head, I muttered, "This isn't making any sense…" And that was when I heard a startlingly loud voice,

"Hey, Kim, long time no see! Summer been good to ya?" A hand clapped me on the shoulder and I turned timidly to see who it was. Next to me stood a nearly five foot and seven inch boy with a head of blonde hair and aqua blue eyes with his arms slung around me like I was his best friend, yet, I didn't even recognize him. He grinned at me with a toothy smile,

"Heeeey, whatcha lookin' at me like that for? It's your good pal, Davis! 'Member me?" He laughed but stooped just as suddenly because across from us stood a shocked-looking Axe.

"Hi… Axe…" I said, barely above a whisper. Feeling the weight of Davis's arm lifted from my shoulders, I scooted a few paces from him.

"Kim…" Axe muttered, stepping forward until he was only inches from us. "Isn't this Davis McLean?"

"Yeah, got a problem with it, bud?" The blonde hissed menacingly.

"Nope, it's just that I was_ about_ to go and help Kim here find her way to class," and grabbing my wrist, he finished, "Now if you'll _excuse _us…" Without protest, Davis glared into our backs as we turned the corner. Once out of earshot, Axe took a quick glance at my schedule then began talking,

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday how I just ditched you without saying good bye."

"It's okay." We took a turn.

"Anyways, I never knew you and Davis were… friends."

"I don't really know him _that_ well…"

"It certainly seemed that way to me."

Axe didn't sound angry; his voice was simply hollow and without a hint of emotion.

"I'm sorry if you're mad at me…" I said quietly, turning my eyes to the stairs before us.

"I'm not mad, don't worry… Here's your class… and that's the bell."

"But… the bell means that you have to be in class… right? Then… you're late! Axe!" He sprinted down the hallway, not looking behind, leaving me to wallow in self-pity at what had happened.

I hopped off the bus at the end of the day, thankful to be finally freed; that was, until I learned that Davis lived in my neighborhood… How come I never saw him before?

"I was in Africa, the whole summer, on a mission with my church and doin' some manual labor," He flexed as he said this, "But it was nothin'!" Attempting to follow the mood of this conversation, I said nonchalantly, "I see you haven't changed one bit."

"Whoa!" Davis gaped, "Didja you finally get ya memory back?" I laughed an unforced laugh.

"Of course not! I was talking about when I saw you in the hallways! Your personality is still quite the same!" He laced his fingers behind his head and looked towards the sky, slowing his pace as he did; I followed suit, enjoying the nice weather outside.

"Oh, well, that's 'kay! We'll find some way to snatch back that memory of yours and then you'll know!"

"Know what?"

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You just said that when we get my memory back I'll know-"

"I have to go! See you tomorrow!" He waved a hand in farewell before dashing over nearby hedges.

_Why is this world full of strange things and strange… people…?_

**I was inspired by school!**

**Haha just kidding!**

**As everyone knows, school started and the Autumn Festival (in the story) passed so I thought, "Why not let Konan go to school?"**

**Well, I hoped that you liked it, nonetheless!**

**Do review and I will be back to you soon!**

**(Hopefully…)**


	34. Chapter 34: The Nameless Ones

**PINKFUZZBALL DOES NOT OWN NARUTO! **

**(Haven't done that in awhile :P)**

The Nameless Ones

(Kimberly's P.O.V)

In the midst of my dream, I heard cackling laughter that echoed from several different places. I pivoted on the spot, trying to find where it was coming from until I was startled by a blinding light. Opening my eyes, I found myself leaning against a cold stone wall, behind bars.

"What the- Who's there? Is anybody there?" I cried, rattling the iron poles that imprisoned me.

"You're awake, good, now we can begin the… analysis of… Kimberly Lin Amber…"

"What? Whosit? Whatsit? And… how do you know my name?"

In seconds, my head began clouding, muddling my thoughts. "Where… am I? Why'm I behind… bars…?" Black spots dotted my vision and I felt myself swaying from side to side.

"Don't worry, just relax at let the sleep serum run its course…"

Once again, I was pitted into the same dream of being surrounded by laughter and having my ability of sight snatched from me while a voice murmured, _Do not struggle… It is futile…_

Then, being blinded by that same light, I sat up abruptly, only to find myself strapped to a chair in a dimly lit room with three creepy looking scientists standing before me jotting down notes on clipboards.

"Ah, so this is the power of an Earth human… That serum would've knocked out a grown ninja of this world for days but you…" The man to the far right muttered; I heard the furious scratching of his pencil against paper.

The middle white coated man stepped forward, his face hidden behind glasses. He coughed quietly, "Ehem, let me be the first to welcome you, Kimberly Lin Amber, to our laboratory. Struggling against those bonds is useless, I'm afraid, though I am sure that you have many questions. I promise that if you listen to me, your answers will come to you." I immediately halted in the biting of the leather that bound me to the chair,

"Really?" He nodded.

"My name is… well that isn't relevant at the moment. However, do you honestly think that you were brought into this world by pure _accident? _That was a rhetorical question, miss. Ehem, well, it was done to you on purpose, the switching of your bodies between you, Konan of the Akatsuki, Shizune of the Hidden Leaf, and Pauline of Earth. Now, now, I said that all your questions will be answered if you listen to me. Continuing on, it was a higher up that gave us scientists the order to make available the portals that you used in the exchanging of souls. What is our purpose, you ask? Well, unfortunately, that is classified information. In fact, I have most likely said too much already. Now, Kimberly Lin Amber, speak your mind."

I couldn't restrain myself any longer, "First of all, quit calling me by my full name. It bugs me. And second of all, you better tell me why you did this whole switching of the bodies thing otherwise-"

"I told you already, _Miss Amber,_" The scientist interrupted politely, "That is information that must not leave this mouth. It is punishable by death by the higher up."

"Who's your… _higher up_?"

"That too, must not be known to others outside of our-"

"I don't care! You told me that you would answer my questions if I listened to your awfully boring and pointless explanation but yet, here I find myself without any decent responses!"

"I understand how you must be feeling right now, but-"

"No you don't! You hell as don't understand a single damn thing that I've had to go through because of your little experiment! The absolute _least _thing that you could do is answer! Now tell me your name! All of you!" Sighing deeply and shaking his head, the front scientist's gaze dropped to the floor.

"Please do keep your outrage to a minimum. We have… _others _here…" And that was when it happened. The back wall exploded, debris scattering in every direction, and a black silhouetted figure emerged from the newly blown hole.

"I expect a _decent _explanation for this, Kimberly…"

The three scientists didn't move, acting as though nothing had happened.

"And who might you be?" The center man asked. However, the shadow ignored him and a simple statement told me all that I needed to know.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THAT YOU'VE MISSED?"

**Yes, I'm sure that you can guess who came to the rescue!**

**Well, I hoped that you enjoyed!**

**And, um, if you could, this once, answer a question honestly?**

**What do you think of this story so far? **

**If the plot has taken a turn for the worst… I would really like to know!**

**Please, may I have your opinions? If you want to, you can PM me! I'm all ears!**

**Thanks once again and see you soon! **


	35. Chapter 35: The Truth Be Told Again!

The Truth Be Told (Again!)

(Pauline's P.O.V)

I'd say that the surprise party went quite well, considering Kakuzu's _wonderful _response. Long story short, he hated it. Well, almost… Except for the fact that the others gave him money for a gift… Oh, the stuffed one hundred dollar bill? When he found out it was fake… Bye bye toy…

After the mess was cleaned up, we all resumed our normal activities and by the next day, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

"This is such a drag…" I groaned aloud.

"Now where have I heard that before…?" Hidan asked inwardly, trying hard to remember something that he couldn't quite yet grasp.

I attempted to continue this conversation in fear of when it was done, the boredom would settle in once again. "Is it usually this boring here?"

"I dunno," He responded sarcastically, "You've been here way before all of us came along." The Jashinist continued to flip through his magazine about hair absentmindedly.

"I dare to disagree!" The words slipped out of my mouth by accident. This caught Hidan's attention.

"What're you talking about?" He looked up from his article and lowered his voice, "And I'll be totally honest; we know you're not Konan. What's that shocked face for? We're not as stupid as we seem!"

"At least not all of us…" Kakuzu muttered while counting his money. Hidan chose to ignore his partner.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't act stupid, it didn't suit Konan. So tell me, who are you really?"

"Like I said I-" And that was when Leader swept into the room.

"Yes, we had a meeting without you, _Konan, _and decided that it was time we actually found out who you really were." And suddenly, all the Akatsuki whisked into the living room.

"Wait… why does this feel so sudden? Everything was perfectly fine before!" I was in full-on panic mode now.

"The real Konan never would've even _thought _of celebrating my birthday" Kakuzu chimed in once again.

"Well she should've!" I put in defensively.

"Aha! That just proves that you aren't Konan!" Kisame burst out, pointing a finger at me. _Shoot. _

"Alright! Alright! I'm not Konan, okay? Happy?"

"What's your real name?" Pein asked.

"Pauline Jane."

"Where do you come from?"

"Earth."

"How did you take over Konan's body? And for what purpose?" He was anxious for answers and I could probably guess why.

"Okay, first of all, I didn't 'take over' her body on purpose! It wasn't my fault! I don't even know why it happened! There I saw Shizune through the mirrow with Kim's conscious inside and we switched! And then I saw Itachi and I don't really remember the rest…"

Pein took this into consideration before consulting the rest of the Akatsuki.

"She has not been a threat since the day that we began observing her but actions must be taken. What should we do with her?"

"Blow her up, un?"

"Eat her?"

"Sell her for money?"

"… Try to turn her back to normal?" Everyone turned to stare at Tobi, wide-eyed and I almost wanted to give him a hug. _Almost. _

"That actually doesn't sound that bad…" Kisame said.

"And it means that we'll be able to get the real Konan back!" It was as if Hidan had spoken Pein's mind for him because he nodded at his words.

"Yes, I agree. So starting today, we will now direct all of our attention to finding ways to get Konan and her conscious back! So do we have any leads?"

Then, it hit me.

"How could I have been so stupid?" I said aloud and everyone turned to look at me, "My friend Kimberly, who I told you guys about earlier, is in Shizune's body, right? So… she's in this world!" Since it still didn't register in the oh-so-smart Akatsuki's minds yet, I declared, "Maybe she'll know something about how to return to our original bodies!" That clicked. Several light bulbs flickered on.

So that concluded the meeting; we would be going to pay Shizune of the Hidden Leaf a little visit tomorrow.

**Oh my goshness I have not updated since… last year!**

**Happy (belated) New Years everyone! :)**

**I hope that those of you who have actually stayed enjoyed!**

**And for those of you who left… please come back!**

**I sincerely apologize… I've been sooooo busy but I hope to update again soon! :D**

**Please do review! Late Christmas present? :)**


	36. Chapter 36: Progression

Progression

(Shizune's P.O.V.)

If you would kindly recall, a few days ago Nathan, Tonton Jr., and I went to a picnic only to discover the unmistakable Inner and Hideaki roaming about. I attempted to follow them but ended up getting lost and then learn the true identity of 'Tonton Jr.' From then on, _Rose_ and I joined forces to return our bodies back to normal. However, that meant finding any leads which we didn't really have except returning to the dreaded searching.

Fortunately, as we were once again scouring the fields that we had had the picnic at, Nathan followed my orders except for one question that brought up panic in my chest,

"You still never answered my question." He said sternly. Parting the long blades of grass, I replied airily,

"Oh, you know with the whole silver cat business… I haven't really gotten around to thinking about it… you know?" I knew inside that I was breaking his heart and to be honest, it was tearing at mine as well.

Nathan didn't say much after that. Instead he just simply nodded and focused extra hard on finding the cat and dog.

We had brought Rose with us and I kept extra careful to keep her within my sights, lest she run off again. To still the silence within my head, I kept an ongoing conversation with her.

_Yup, and they serve the best sake there! You simply _have _to try it when we return!_

I heard her chuckle, _Of course! You're making Konoha sound like _the _place to live in!_

_ I try,_ I thought.

However, even though we searched all day and into the evening, we found no traces of the cat and dog. As I sat on Pauline's bed reading one of her books from the shelves, I couldn't help but think things over and how every other encounter had been by some sort of chance where I wasn't looking for them on purpose or with someone at my side. Then it came to me. Maybe Nathan's the problem! So I decided that tomorrow I would 'not search' for them but actually keep an eye out for the two animals at the same time! Make much sense?

The next day I decided to head to the playground; the area of our first encounter. Sitting on the park bench nearby I patiently waited, keeping my eyes and ears alert with Rose in my lap. Then, as I had predicted, they came. With that oh-so-familiar streak of silver followed by a lump of brown that circled around the slides, I knew it had to be them. Rose leapt from my lap and into Hideaki's path, forcing him to stop running. Then I ran and scooped the nimble Inner into my arms. She struggled, bit, and clawed and believe me it hurt, but I didn't let go. Soon enough, she calmed down.

_So you caught us again. _Hideaki growled, _big whoop. _He didn't even make any attempts in escaping from the glaring Rose.

_ Do really have to carry me? _Inner protested, _Your grip is quite uncomfortable._

_ As long as I can trust you not to run off._

_ Yes, you can. _She sighed submissively.

_Okay, so now you're going to give us answers. _I told them; better to be direct, right?

_First of all, _Rose began, _do you have any piece of information on how to return to the ninja world?_

Hideaki scoffed, _And you think that after all this time that I'll tell you just like that? I don't think so! _And with that, Rose bit his tail. Whimpering, Hideaki scampered away and hid behind my legs. _Okay okay! I'll talk! _

_ So, you're well aware that I was Orochimaru's pupil, right? It wasn't entirely his 'experiment.' It was a higher up's. I don't know exactly who this guy is or what he's planning but I do know, from my master's record, that there are others, besides us, who are involved. Let me see… If I recall correctly they were Kimberly, Konan, Shizune, and Pauline as well as me, Rose, and Inner. _My heart skipped a beat; Konan of the Akatsuki and Kimberly of this world?

_I'm not done yet! _Hideaki barked, seeing my mouth about to move. _So this higher up, let's just call him Pax, don't give me that look, Inner! So Pax wanted to conduct this sort of experiement and chose two girls from the human world and two from the ninja world. And where do us three fit in? Well I think that Orochimaru had something to do with that. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't even remember how we switched with these animals! How did you do it? _The shaggy dog glanced up at me with questioning eyes.

_Well, I switched through a mirror…_

_ That's it! _He yelped, _I remember now! It was a mirror of some sort!_

Rose oinked, _Yes, now that you mention it…_

_ It _was_, in fact, a mirror! Oh, how could I have been so silly? _Purred Inner.

_Okay… _I mumbled, not seeing the point of any of this, _and what's so great about the switching factor being connected with a mirror?_

_ You see, _Inner spoke up, _in our village, mirror's have a certain… quality to them, different from others. If you look into connected mirrors as the same time as another person, you switch bodies! Of course this was extremely rare and happened at max, once a year! Most times, less than that! Now I believe that Orochimaru and… _Pax, _were aiming to use this quality to their mysterious experiment._

_ Thing is, _Rose butt in, _what is that experiment and why would they switch us on purpose?_

_ That's what we're trying to find out! _I declared. Then, after a pause, _so now what?_

And to my surprise, there came silence.

**Sorry! TT^TT **

**Really bad ending… I know… but I didn't know how else to end it!**

**I'll be totally honest with you…**

**Idk where this story's going!**

**I'm just making it up as it comes!**

**So if I get something wrong, in the future, I'm sorry!**

**And I hope that that doesn't stop you from reading!**

**Or reviewing! **

**:D**


	37. Chapter 37: Konan's Wintry Day

Konan's Wintry Day

(Konan's P.O.V)

We had school back in the ninja world but it was never as hard as school in _this _world. By the second day, I was swamped with this thing called homework though back at the village I would say that homework translates to training. But, thing is, homework is much harder.

Davis and I were in the same biology class and our cruel teacher, Mr. Berd, assigned us a 'project' on the second day! And even worse, he paired me and Davis together! We were required to research about an organism's DNA and find different genes that make that organism unique and in turn, the species exclusive and different from the others in its family. In the end we were to present our findings with a 'Power Point Presentation' in front of the whole class. And this entire assignment was due in two weeks time.

It was the third day of school and Davis and I were walking home, the day quite frosty in contrast to yesterday. Bundled up in Kimberly's warm coat, I zipped it up further in attempt to block out the chilly air.

"'You cold?" Davis asked, concern dripping from his voice.

"No," I lied before sneezing.

"It doesn't seem that way to me." He began to slow his pace down just as he had done the other day.

"Really, I'm fine." And then, I caught sight of something white falling from the sky. It landed on my open palm and melted. Looking up, I saw many more of its kind raining down from the sky.

"Snow!" Davis exclaimed, sticking out his tongue. This odd behavior no longer baffled me as it had done many times before but I was still curious.

"Why am I stickin' out my tongue? Well, to catch the snowflakes of course!"

"… Snowflakes? Do you mean the white things falling from the sky?" The 'snowflakes' were coming down much harder now, coating the rooftops and yards in a gentle white blanket.

"Yup! It's just frozen water but it's mighty fun to try catchin' them on your tongue!" He laughed and continued in his attempts to catch snowflakes. It looked fun, I had to admit and I was almost tempted to try it. And I did.

So there were Davis and I twirling along the sidewalk with tongues extended and arms stretched out wide. That was, until he took my hand and drew me in close, his lips gently brushing my cheeks, and the warmth immediately spread across my face, my cheeks flushing a dark shade of pink.

"Does that help you remember? The times like this that we had when we were little?" And with that, he sprinted homeward.

It was now official; I needed to get out of this world and back home before I messed anything else up in Kimberly Amber's life.

With the snowflakes falling and the terrain outside now insurmountable, I was unable to meet with Axe at the playground which dampened my spirits. However, with much leisure time at Amber's house, I began to wonder, why had I never thought of returning to the ninja world? I was yet to make an attempt at finding a way back.

Now, if I recall correctly, it was a mirror that I had passed through so long ago, it seems. And it was as if that mirror was water, allowing my conscience to slip through and into the body of another… But, looking into the mirror now, I see nothing but Kimberly Amber's reflection. Is there something wrong with me?

I touched my hand to my cheek; the one that Davis kissed, and found is surprisingly cold.

The next morning was a Friday and school was cancelled due to the excessive amounts of snowflakes. I slept in and checked Kimberly's phone to find a message from Davis (we had switched numbers during class.):

**hey sleepyhead i kno that ur asleep but wake up! we hav to work on the project today what time is good for u?**

I replied quickly by giving him a vague answer before brushing my teeth and heading downstairs for some breakfast. Upon my return to my room, I found that Davis had responded:

**okay so does 1 sound good to u? i can drive or walk over there no sweat**

One o'clock? It was now twelve forty-six.

Davis arrived right on schedule, bundled up with a scarf, gloves, boots, and earmuffs.

"Sorry, my mother isn't home right now, she had to go to work."

"That's cool," He breathed, hanging his coat on the coat hanger. "Now, let's research about elephant DNA!"

This was going to be quite the day.

**Oh no! **

**To ****rabbit153, ****I'm UBER sorry if the story has been boring for the past chapters…**

**It's for plot purposes! **

**Cuz I'm planning to wrap up this story soon :P**

**So, as always, hoped that you liked the chapter and please review!**

**I know that it can be annoying sometimes but… it'll make us authors really happy! :D**

**And encourage us to write more!**

**I'm sure that some of you guys out there can sympathize, right? :)**

**So then… bye for now! **


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